‘Rival Dealer’ represents a huge leap forward for Burial musically.
Since dropping ‘Untrue’ in 2007, William Emmanuel Bevan’s dark subterranean sound has made him indie famous and a huge critical darling. Although fans have had to spend the last 6 years waiting for a third full length offering, Burial has kept appetites satiated with yearly LP’s and increasingly weird singles. However, it is only now that he really seems to be moving on musically from his established comfort zone of the so-called “Burial formula” of distorted vocal samples, ambient noise, and disorienting 2 step beats. “Rival Dealer” is an undeniable break with tradition, the tone at times verging on blissed out euphoria, incorporating startling forays into pop and DnB. Combined with its uplifting anti bullying and pro acceptance message, there is a distinct chance the sum total might alienate some of his audience. Though only three tracks long and boasting a running time of a mere 28 minutes, “Rival Dealer” manages to have a depth and wealth of ideas that most full length albums could only dream of.
The opening track “Rival Dealer” starts off like business as usual for Burial, deploying his signature ominous buzzing and vinyl crackles: what follows is anything but. The song quickly descends into a hazy emotional whirlwind that wouldn’t sound out of place in a 90’s warehouse rave, with its cries of “I’m going to love you more than anyone”, and sped up drum loop from The Soul Searchers seminal classic “Ashley’s Roachclip”. We even get a surprise appearance from Lord Finesse with his cries of “You know my motherfucking style.” Though on the surface the track sounds a lot like Burial repackaging the sounds of others, it’s just as dark and complex as any of his previous work, with abrupt stops as disorienting as ever.
Follow up “Hiders” is possibly Burial’s most uplifting track to date – and probably his most divisive. With a lush series of glacial piano chords and a hugely saccharine arrangement, it builds to almost power ballad levels of sentimentality. It’s relatively simple bass-snare, Phil Collins-esque drum pattern is like nothing Burial has done before. Though it’s sure to divide fans, it is not his first flirtation with emotional openness of this type. It may lack the mystery and subterfuge of his previous work, but it makes up for with sheer emotional brute force and whilst by far the shortest track on the album, it may make the biggest impression of them all.
“Come down to us” starts off with a menacing sitar riff before eventually morphing into almost unbearably romantic layers of RNB samples and shouts of “You are not alone”; at times appearing more “Destiny’s Child” than East London pirate radio. It closes with a sample from a speech by lana Wachowski, the Matrix filmmaker turned transsexual campaigner, about finally being able to love herself. It’s a strange, haunting ending to the entire album: but it’s a fitting one.
“Rival Dealer” seems in many ways to be Burial’s coming out, experimenting with new musical forms and ideas, sometimes at the expense of confusing his dedicated fan base and ditching his successful formula. But it’s a successful coming out, and may well be his strongest effort since “Untrue”. Bevan has looked deeper into what inspires him as an artist and moved away from a sound so distinctly “Burial”, he has at times looked to be subsumed by it.
When I first heard “Burial” had released a new EP, I had the high expectations one would expect of an artist of his calibre. However, “Rival Dealer” was one thing no one would ever have expected: uplifting. It’s themes of confusion, identity, love, self-hatred and artful stylistic shifting not only make it one of the best albums of 2013, but curiously one of the best festive album in years. In a rare interview Bevan claimed that he wanted to give fans “an angel’s spell to protect them against the unkind people, the dark times, and the self-doubts.” I think in a way he might have succeeded. Burial might not have given fans what they wanted this Christmas: but he may well have given them something more.