Flame 2 [The Bug & Burial] - Dive / Rain

  • Artefacts from a distant, long-dead civilisation.
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  • Burial and The Bug's previous release found the two British artists luxuriating in one another's idiosyncratic sonic identities. Its two tracks, "Fog" and "Shrine," threw up few surprises, summoning dub-inflected ghosts underpinned by clanging industrial-charged percussion. Despite the pair sharing a lot in common—a fondness for hiss, murkiness and desolate atmospheres—pinpointing the origins of each element felt too easy. The Bug's monolithic dancehall was self-evident alongside Burial's complex, layered ambience. Flame 2's "Dive" is enthralling because the pair's styles are so integrated it's impossible to tell who's doing what. The track begins with lo-fi crackle until submerged, irregular kicks are introduced alongside a haunting synth melody. One minute in, the track's floor gives way with a bassline that feels like it's plummeting into an ink-black ocean. Hi-hats skitter like tiny spiders, resulting in a thrilling, alien-sounding drop of deep-sea vastness. "Rain" is more predictable, recalling the duo's previous synthesis of stomping reggaeton and cascading noise—it would be a banger through a soundsystem. Still, there's the same intricacy and depth to the sound design as that found on "Dive," helping these tracks feel like artefacts from a distant, long-dead civilisation.
  • Tracklist
      A Dive B Rain
RA