Massive Attack vs. Burial: "Four Walls"

What makes Burial so predisposed to repeat listening is the tendency his music has to infiltrate the brain—his productions bedding deep amongst the synapses and receptors, where they stimulate surges of reaction and form new iterations which then refuse to be uprooted. With Untrue (2007), William Bevan revealed himself to be capable of the kind of panoramic ode to nocturnal London promised by earlier releases, and cemented his position as a prerequisite influence on many high profile remixes and collaborations. Joining him on this split 12” are Massive Attack, who themselves are no strangers to the corridors of the mind, their music at its prime more of a resonant ache, throbbing bass lines and off-kilter rhythms the foundations of their icy craft. So, especially given Bevan’s renowned ability to meld his sound with the principles of other artists—see: his mind-bendingly great split with Four Tet, Moth/Wolf Cub (2009)—the combining of the two promises much. Yet I can’t help but be disappointed by “Four Walls,” the one all-new track from this release.

First: this thing drags. I’m all for songs being as long as they need to be, but in this instance the twelve-minute run time certainly stretches the boundaries of justification. Were “Four Walls” to lose, say, two minutes of the tone-setting haze and crackling from the introduction, it is doubtful that the murky atmospherics would be too heavily compromised. When a shuffling rhythm does emerge a little further on, it is joined by disjointed cello strokes and an eerie female vocal line that heralds the strongest part of the track, where the combination of sounds form a beautiful, perfectly sculpted soundscape. But its shimmering nature starts to feel superficial as it winds on, noticeably unchanging to the point where it starts to evoke a very un-Burial-like monotony. Flashes of production brilliance occasionally protrude from the mix—the forlorn bleating of a horn; the static restlessness of feedback; a panning digital shudder—yet none are able to truly break free from the mould.

Inexplicably, when the track feels like it has reached a logical (and welcome) conclusion, fading to near silence, we get a couple of further minutes of beleaguered ambience and sedate electronics. It is surprisingly, really, that given the combined weight and experience of the artists involved that “Four Walls” is so quotidian. The nature of the song lacks any really compelling element to the degree that passing comment on it is actually made difficult by the lack of lasting sentiment; where both Burial and Massive Attack have excelled before exists in concentrating the focus of the listener to a sharper midst of their chiseled productions. Here, attentions are permitted to wander, a mirror to the inoffensive meanderings of the track itself. While “Four Walls” certainly isn’t bad, it ultimately leaves little to reflect upon, and much to forget. Because frankly, few will want to spend time lamenting the fact that these combined forces have produced something that is strangely, sadly, boring.