Burial on XL makes sense. Long before they were the home of mega-acts Adele and Radiohead, XL Recordings had humble beginnings as a rave label, churning out breakbeat hardcore 12-inches by SL2, Dance Conspiracy, and most notably, The Prodigy. Burial has been channeling this breakbeat sound for a while, going back to 2013’s "Rival Dealer" with increasing frequency in the dozen releases since. Recent link-ups with Thom Yorke, including the Her Revolution / His Rope 12" released in 2020 on XL, set the stage for this high-profile switch from his longtime label home Hyperdub (which we’re hoping will yield a new full-length, his first since 2007’s Untrue). Both sides of this single clock in at over 12 minutes, each one a meticulously crafted pastiche of jungle breaks, chipmunk vocal refrains, pirate radio crackle and obscure dialogue samples mined from the deepest corners of YouTube, leaning into the classic XL sound harder than ever before with euphoric synth leads and even hip-house passages. Pay close attention!

• black 12" vinyl pressing
• housed in die-cut XL sleeve
• limited edition
• side A: Dreamfear / side B: Boy Sent From Above
• music label: XL Recordings 2024

reviewed by pizza rat 01/2024