Bleep

While we’ve come accustomed to the tonal shifts from the many singles and EPs Burial has dropped throughout the years, the next one always comes as a surprise. From the blissed out Young Death to the damp subterranean ambience of Subtemple, and the all-out buzz of the raving Claustro, there’s no telling what Burial has hidden up his sleeve. If the Antidawn EP was anything to go by, night has settled in with vaporific solitude, but his latest Streetlands EP surpasses expectations by taking a step even further into the sonic abyss.

Hospital Chapel sets the scene: cold winds howl through dark streets as distant voices and submerged ghostly choirs call out into the night. The rain has soaked the pavements in reverb, above which an ambient whalesong floats, disquieting yet hopeful in its ethereal waves of energy. Streetlands continues with chimes and piano keys echoing the desolate vibes, but as light filters through cracks in the concrete, a cinematic catharsis rises up from the bleakness. With elegance and wells of emotion, an eviscerated yet angelic chorus sings its reversed prayers, signalling constantly shifting moods as sparse sounds traverse vast spaces. Likewise, the sci-fi strings and arpeggios of Exokind introduce motion to these tense, abstract sound collages, summoned from the south London boroughs to another world entirely.

Streetlands EP is a series of exercises in negative space, shrouded in Burial’s signature crackles and mist that is broken by spells of commanding light. Even in its darkest moments, Burial’s artistry knows no bounds, drifting from barren, nihilistic scenes to sanctuaries of sonic salvation.