Burial — Untrue
Within the UK’s smorgasbord of urban, bass-driven music, dubstep has so far had to clamor for attention. The apparent lack of it is, in part, deserved: much of it is tedious and unimaginative, moving at a lethargic pace and easily slipping into the realm of background music. Thankfully, however, all flagging genres occasionally spit out an artist who finds a sound somewhere within that genus that quickly forces its critics to swallow their words and return for some re-evaluation. Burial’s Untrue has finally done that. Its carefully sketched imagery brings to the surface the dark underbelly of London, one that has been recomposed time and again by artists who, until now, have lost the real depiction somewhere in the translation. The faceless producer weaves a narrative that is distinctly unsettling yet intriguing, capturing perfectly the imagery of blackened estates and urban decay seldom seen by those outside of it. Its brooding, atmospheric landscape — driven by heavy reverb and tampered, sometimes tortured, vocals — could nearly be a cliche if it weren’t for the exquisite attention to minimalism and stripped-down production that makes the sound unique. Refusing climactic temptations and opting for moody sparsity, Untrue beats out a slow and fractured, yet well-paced, journey; the total effect of which may be lost on those who haven’t walked the streets themselves. At least it begins an introduction.
Listen to the Burial track, Dog Shelter.
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Also by FRANCIS ANDREWS
James Mackay’s Even Though I’m Free I Am Not
Award-winning photojournalist James Mackay’s latest project comes at a time when the world’s eyes are fixed on Burma and the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. By photographing former political prisoners displaying the names of their colleagues and friends who remain behind bars, Even Though I’m Free I Am Not exposes the enduring pain faced by Burma’s opposition movement. Over 2,100 activists, journalists, lawyers and politicians languish in prisons across the country, and on Friday Aung San Suu Kyi will likely join them. Read more
The blind date of the food world has finally arrived, and it’s proving more palatable than the awkwardness of an evening spent in superficial conversation. Secret Supper clubs are springing up in the backstreets of London: what are attics and living rooms by day get converted into makeshift restaurants catering for an evening of surprise tastes and conversations. Read more
Young British designer Adam Farlie takes a leftfield approach to how people experience interaction with objects, often taking everyday items and toying with their potential to harbour deeper meaning and greater usage than first perceived. He transforms a bed into a ‘vessel that captures and contains the audio-memories of past occupiers through sound’, allowing those who lie on the bed to recall past intimcaties or conversations from years ago, while his take on a chest of drawers’ purpose of holding records of people is similarly intriguing.
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The bio of San Fransisco-based illustrator Jenn Porreca says it all way better than I ever could: ‘Some time ago, Jenn Porreca moved from the edges of the real world to the edges of the underground. Read more
One of the largest contemporary construction projects in the world [it's the size of London's Hyde Park], the 220 suite Hydropolis, situated twenty metres below the surface of the Persian Gulf near Dubai, will be the first luxury underwater hotel. It’s expected to open to the public in late 2009. Read more
While I feel I am not alone in breathing a sigh of relief over this season’s purging of fluoro, in retrospect there was a lot to be learned from the experience: don’t wear all fluoro, or don’t wear fluoro at all. And we slowly trudged back to black, which, despite what other colors may think, will always be the new black. Read more
Formerly of Arab Strap, Scottish songwriter Malcolm Middleton sings with all the integrity and smoky purity of someone who has spent way too much time puffing away in the back corner of a sketchy Dundee pub. Read more
We invited Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, who aside from being the DJ of the moment is also the remix whiz behind tracks from Beck, Tokyo Police Club, and Grizzly Bear, to give us a rundown on the songs he’s wearing out right now for our sister site, My Secret Playlist. He started off by propping Beyonce’s anthemic single, Single Ladies [listen below]. Go figure! ‘This is one of my favorite Beyonce tracks ever. It has so much energy, and the chorus gets dark in a great way. The clapping never stops. The video is a flawless execution of a performance style clip. It’s perfect’. Read the rest of Girl Talk’s Secret Playlist.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a reminder of why the medium of film is so special. It features first rate visuals, performances, direction and acting, all of which fits together into one of the most insightful, powerful and touching pieces of cinema ever. Read more
The Sound of Animals Fighting again unleash their experimental blend of progressive electronic hardcore rock. Known only by their animal names — Nightingale, Walrus, Lynx, and Skunk — and wearing masks for their rare live appearances, TSOAF have released two albums. Their latest, The Ocean and The Sun, offers an intense mix of genres, as delicate Brazilian-inflected melodies careen into shattering guitar workouts.
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Charlie Immer’s pastel-pallete sometimes obfuscates the gory violence in his surreal images. At other times, it heightens the gut-wrenching and visceral effect of his work. Read more
I live the upbeat, feel good tempo of the new single — A Hundred Hearts — from Philly group, The Swimmers. Off their latest album, People Are Soft, this song is a strangely fitting anthem for the blustery day outside.
Our celebrity-saturated culture makes many of us irrationally hateful of the faces we see on our TV screens and magazine pages. Good thing there’s Celebrity PunchOut to let off some of that steam.
Italian-born, New York City-based photographer Paolo Ventura creates fairy-tale like pictures out of amazingly constructed, miniature dioramas that almost trick the eye into thinking he’s a tilt-shift photographer. Read more
Forget battery powered vehicles. Cars made from ice are the future of transportation: no pollution, no honking horns, no painful rap music blasting out of souped up stereos. And if they melt, they melt. You just swim the rest of the way down the slipstream.
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
Milk and honey, an indubitable pair. In this necklace by Stephanie Simek, a golden honeycomb beeswax pendant is encased in plastic and hangs from an oxidized sterling silver chain. The links are interwoven with a milk protein-based fiber. We have it for sale in our online store. Read more
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