- Though William Thomas Burnett isn't exactly new on the scene, the producer now known as Willie Burns seems prime for a breakout: with L.I.E.S. piquing worldwide interest in some of the stranger corners of the New York house scene, it wouldn't be surprising to see one of its earliest signings getting a fair amount of buzz. As if on cue, his latest, the Overlord EP, arrives on Will Bankhead's always attention-grabbing The Trilogy Tapes.
Overlord isn't flawless, but Burns seems to know his music's limitations and use them to his advantage. Sticking to just a handful of core sounds—sandpapery, strobing pads and reverb-y drums chief among them—he burrows deep instead of spreading wide. The title track absolutely kills: with huge synths banging out confused chords over a sharp rhythmic stutter, Burns blasts us into glorious submission. "African Love Story" is more subtly catchy, driven by ticklish, bitcrushed guitars that seem to have wiggled into the mix from a YouTube video. On the flip, "Duh Duh Dunk" completely makes over many of these same sounds with the addition of a few misty-eyed piano notes. The EP's only unwise inclusion is "A Summer in Grass," a noodling slow jam that doesn't go much of anywhere.
Tracklist A1 The Overlord
A2 Duh Duh Dunk
B1 African Love Story
B2 Summer In Grass