Burial ‎– Untrue

This is not vanilla dubstep, it probably has more in common with downtempo, IDM, or trip-hop. In any case, its one of the most talked about releases of the 2000s, but is in many respects overrated. There's talent, and it shines on "Archangel", but the album does not have enough variety. It all sounds the same and is constructed very simply and without the intricacy that say, IDM, would have.

It's certainly good, but it's just not quite what its cracked up to be.

Whatever genre people are calling this album, I'm going to stick to electronic as a base simplification for Untrue. Its an alright album, but it is not going to save any electronic genre from anything. The beats are one dimensional and thin sounding, there are no two tracks on this album that are outstanding. Maybe a generation of mp3 kids with attention deficit disorder think this is "wicked" because they've been force fed a short lifetime of rubbish pop music and they don't have the balls to break from their pack mentality to explore outside of there cliques to find truly ground breaking electronic music. This is an alright album at best, but not the best produced album of whatever genre people are calling this, but he has time on his side and the future will prove if he has the talent.

Despite being oft-labeled as the 'godfather' of dubstep, I think Burial's UNTRUE excels not necessarily as a dubstep album, but as a creation of pure atmosphere: the strings and vocal samples of "Archangel" hint at dark clouds covering a dark sky, and if "Near Dark" and "Ghost Hardware" don't differ greatly, they both maintain an ominous -- but also strangely romantic -- feel. Indeed, all over the album, the repurposed soul vocal samples help cast the darkness in cement. Stripped of context, the voices become singular howls of pain, or plaintive calls in the empty spaces that Burial's music creates, becoming another texture: "Etched Headplate" resists having the 'lyrics' be understandable, consumed as they are beneath the bass, while the momentary piano of "In McDonalds" echoes the female whisper. The title track, too, hinges on the darkness of telling lies, as brief as that sample is. The sweeping synths and bell tones of the ambient "Dog Shelter" resonate into the more energetic "Homeless," as the layered voices become a chorus. The final track, "Raver," goes between the spareness of the rhythm and the fullness of sound. Forget dubstep being all about the wobbly bass -- here, it's all about the atmosphere.

A very nice sounding album.
Personaly i dont think it has anything to do with dubstep...
It doenst have the basses, the wobbles and build-up.
I wouldnt know how to call it in terms of genre? Maybe somewhat loungy.
But its a magnificant piece of music. Geniously made!!!!

On the strength of these reviews I bought this album. And even after repeated listenings it somehow does not succeed in revealing its beauty or strength. I agree an eerie atmosphere is being generated, and I would be happy with that, the rhythms are subdued, but not stereotypical. It is the vocal noodlings as the top layer I find annoying. They are too much of a bow to exactly those melismatic r'n'b mannerisms that my ears and my brain shun as the acoustic equivalent of fake emotions: too explicit to be true.
This is meant to articulate a different opinion in this sea of almost unanimous appraisal.
An afterthought: The enormous amount of five star ratings (even in the context of discogs being a geography visited by people very much inclined towards electronic music) surprises me. Once you bestow your five stars upon Untrue what can you do if suddenly pressed to evaluate Broke Down Engine by Blind Willie McTell?

I'm really digging this album. I have heard a couple of tracks from Burial before but not many and then I received this album and instantly listened to the whole thing and it is definitely something different if you listen to a lot of newer electronic type music. I see this as something to just kick back to and listen to it, you can appreciate it a lot more that way. This will be in my collection for all of time as you would be a fool to sell this.

If you enjoy modern electronic music this is something for the holy grail. Untrue isn't so "untrue", as matter of fact it is one of the most true to heart albums I own. Expect nothing but appreciate everything, the sad yet profound exist in this sound, something I could only categorize as revolutionary.

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!

This is an unbelievably good album. I think it's the best dubstep album ever produced. It took me a good year to realize how good it is, not wanting to really listen to the R`n`B vocals that Burial samples. However, I found myself returning again and again to this masterpiece and it has really settled deep into me.

The music is intense and full of emotion. Untrue starts off very vulnerable with beautiful vocals in Archangel and Near Dark. It gets very dark further on in Etched Headplate and it manages to emerge from the experience with a sense of hope and relief in Raver.

The way Burial cuts up the sound in the European radio waves and transforms it into his own vision of what night and loneliness feels like is pure genius. It's like he holds a mirror to our culture and lets us hear what he hears. For me there is no better music that illustrates city life than this.

This album is as important to the UK electronic music scene as those from Aphex Twin, Plaid, Black Dog, FSOL, Boards of Canada etc. No doubt it will be held in such esteem as Massive Attack's Blue Lines or Roni Size's New Forms as being one that defines a homegrown genre.

The haunting pads and synths compliment the vocals perfectly sounding like an MK / Todd Edwards hybrid battling with hoodies in a studio somewhere. Whether it's hype or not this is a great great album - I've listened to it once and it's already up there as being influential.

Whether Burial wins the Mercury prize is neither here nor there - on the one hand new exciting music such as this should be supported to every level so Burial should win the £75,000 or whatever it is... on the other hand... I selfishly don't want the masses to discover this gem.

Disregard my last comment... everyone who has more than an interest in electronic music should check this.