It isn’t often that Burial releases a new project, but here we are – 2022 delivering the goods right at the outset. It has been over 14 years since Untrue was released and the mysterious producer hasn’t put out an album since. There have been compilations, singles, collaborations and short EPs, but a full-length LP has still evaded us. While his new project ANTIDAWN is another EP, its lengthy run-time of 43 minutes gives the listener quite a bit of music to work with as if its an album.
ANTIDAWN tell a story of a wintertime city as it shifts toward the darkness and night. You can feel that from the outset with “STRANGE NEIGHBORHOOD” that crackles and whispers with a haunting delicacy.
That is a constant theme throughout this project. The title track continues to whisper and swirl around like mist in the forest. Voices enter like the cold through a poorly insulated window, staying for only a sort period of time.
EP Review: Burial – ANTIDAWN
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ANTIDAWN distills Burial’s music to its most basic, ambient core, shifting drums for soft melodies that can play like a distant church organ on “SHADOW PARADISE” or the soft melodies that guide the hopeful “NEW LOVE.” Wind chimes help accentuate the beauty he is looking to add to these songs like snow gently falling in the night in a dimly lit alley. The finale, “UPSTAIRS FLAT,” seeks to capture the full mood of the project, starting hopeful and uplifting, before it descends into low, distant noise and voices echoing.
Burial has stripped back his productions to its ambient basics with ANTIDAWN. He captures the feeling of a cold, wintery night with its potential possibilities, but also the quiet that comes with it. Burial creates a contemplative EP that can be hopeful, but also cold and even slightly haunting. It is a beautiful turn for Burial and something to listen to on repeat for these long nights. Get your copy of the EP now via Hyperdub. Vinyl and CD versions will be available on January 28 and can be pre-ordered.
