I think what Burial has done here are threefold:
1. He's made an album which authentically captures the wide emotional spectrum of the original hardcore rave era
2. He's used original sounding beats, sounds and processes that instantly identify his music
3. He obviously is a proper musician as the songs on this album have a musical content way above what you normally expect from the electronic scene.
Overall, very refreshing in the face of the usual spiritless fodder we've been served this decade. Long live music like this!

I'd heard ALOT of amazing things about this album for months, then I actually got it and listened to it. Totally over-rated.
I was genuinely bored out of my mind with 85% of this album. There were a few tracks here and there that made my ears perk up for a few seconds. It didn't bore me as if I have ADHD or anything like that (I'm quite the ambient/downtempo/musique-concrete fan), but this just seemed kind of un-inspired and formulaic.

I can appreciate the production skills here. It's put together well. But it just bored me, what can I say?

I've been trying all afternoon to determine if the hiss on my copy is due to the defect mentioned above or that it's just part of the music.

I think I like it anyway. It's a great album in all. Heard people complain about the vocals making it too poppy, but it doesn't bother me too much. The tracks sound more like songs, but they still have the good elements that made Burial's debut a classic. A worthy follow up and a nice addition to the first album anyway.

Is it possible to do justice to this album? Truly an awesome piece of music that manages to be emotive, exciting, mellow, dark and melancholic (in true Burial style) all at once. Near Dark is simply stunning, woodblocks, dark rave stabs running around in the back, and a vox admitting to envy. Archangel has elements not unlike Rhythm and Sound, but nothing like them, too. More darkness and vox. The entire album is the work of a genius. I didn't think it would be possible to top South London Boroughs; so, eh, what do I know?