Burial – Rival Dealer (2013)

April 22, 2022

Hrmmmm. This is a rare misstep for Burial. Let me preface this by saying that the music here isn’t bad, nor is its production inferior. Everything is above board. I’m just…. confused by the vibes. The name Rival Dealer of course conjures the usual Burial magic of urban grit filtered through fractured and almost ambient dance/dub sound pieces. All of them are unique yet united as a whole. On Rival Dealer however, which contains some fairly lengthy tracks, Burial instead takes the vibes more cosmic. Such subjects are usually not dealings of those who focus on the harsh focus of British modern life, especially those who manage to display those grounded subjects it so beautifully through audible art forms. So the change of tack here is surprising to say the least.

Also, this isn’t to say that the “gazing at the stars” kind of vocal sampling in place here does not match Burial’s style of wandering, synth-heavy patchwork that he calls music. But, I for one cannot make head or tail of this. It’s disjointed and confused, and not in the usually dense, introspective way you would expect. It is all over the place. Right at the end, the sampling U-turns into a quote from a transgender person and their acceptance of themselves, before addressing the existence of other worlds. Whatever Burial is trying to tell us here, I cannot for the life of me figure it out.