Burial: Claustro/State Forest Both sides of Burial work in the darkness – whether the darkness of the club, or the forest – his music works by impression and suggestion. Read More
Burial: Rival Dealer [xrr rating=4.5/5]Who is Burial? Even eight years after London artist William Bevan’s debut under the fittingly cryptic and shadowy moniker the question still arises. But with every subsequent release the answer seems to matter less and less. Burial’s legacy, the one he established with his sophomore record and masterwork, Untrue, was cemented well before the last decade was even over. … Read More
Burial: Truant/Rough Sleeper [xrr rating=4.0/5]When Burial released Untrue in 2007, his willful anonymity was as important to the intrigue of his music as continuing to explore the sound he created with his 2006 debut. It’s been a few years since Burial revealed his identity, so the focus has shifted to a better question: what’s next from William Bevan, and how will each new … Read More
Five Years Later: The Best Albums of 2007!! Five years is an eternity in the life of a record. When coming up with this feature, the question the Spectrum Culture staff pondered was this: “How well do these albums play NOW!” Not five years ago, but how have they aged in our memories. While some acclaimed albums of ’07 remain strong on our list, some critically-lauded ones didn’t … Read More
Top 20 Albums of 2012 20. Cat Power Sun [Matador] Cat Power’s ninth studio album is filled with unexpected studio flourishes—overdubs, synthesizers, electronic beats—and yet retains all the lyric edge and raw, minor-key emotion that distinguish the best of her work. Sun has moments as introspective as anything in Chan Marshall’s catalog, notably the hangover ruminations of “3,6,9” or the understated rage of “Always on … Read More
Top 25 Songs of 2012 25) M.I.A. – “Bad Girls” [Interscope] Originally released by M.I.A. as a 2:13 worldbeat experiment on 2010’s Vicki Leekx mixtape, the extended edit of “Bad Girls” blends the jovial tenacity of the younger performer with the alternative pop sheen the songstress has cultivated in the interim 13 months. True, the song centers on M.I.A. getting banged in the front seat … Read More
Rediscover: Burial: Burial Rediscover is a series of reviews highlighting past releases that have flown under the radar and now deserve a second look. At first listen, the beats of Burial’s 2006 self-titled debut are nearly unrecognizable from the productions that now carry the “dubstep” tag. Commonly characterized by massive drops, bombastic samples, mechanized bass growls and saw-jaw tempo spikes, dubstep circa 2012 … Read More
Burial: Kindred EP [xrr rating=4.0/5]It’s been nearly six years since William Bevan unassumingly released his debut album under the Burial moniker. Less than a year later he would alter the course of modern bass music with his sophomore album, Untrue, seemingly setting the course for a career of grand gestures and media-parlayed over-exposure. Bevan, however, has yet to release a true follow-up to … Read More
Chet Baker: (Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You/Chet Baker in New York/Chet/Chet Baker Plays the Best of Lerner and Loewe-review
Chet Baker: (Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You/Chet Baker in New York/Chet/Chet Baker Plays the Best of Lerner and Loewe-review