Mood is a valuable tool is an artist’s arsenal, and there are few better illustrations of this than Burial’s Untrue. This decade-old record is classified under the dirty word that is dubstep, however this does a great disservice to a record that pulls from UK garage, trip hop and ambient music. It forms a project chock-full of heavy, off-the-cuff beat music that features dark synths and a big, brooding atmosphere of a murky, damp city after dusk. Burial’s ingenious use of samples is imperative to his idiosyncratic sound, such as on “Near Dark”, which uses the sounds of falling bullet casings from the Metal Gear Solid video game as jangling percussion. Meanwhile, the track “Ghost Hardware”, incorporates off-kilter, featherweight drums and liquid synths, which actively conflicts with the harsh bass strikes throughout the otherwise numbing affair. Tucked within the LP’s dimly lit halls is the haunting ambient piece “Dog Shelter”, and the title track highlights a key element in the album’s successful creation of mood; Burial takes vocal samples from unassuming R&B songs, creating abstract lyrics that read like poetry, detailing sorrow, regret, loneliness. Upon first listen, Untrue can be seen as very ominous, gloomy and unapproachable. However, the more familiar the album gets, the more it opens up, bringing comfort. Though it’s hardly a varied album, it’s a special vehicle, heading towards a desolate world that Burial has made just for you.