Dieselboy

(From this point forward I'll be trying to make my reviews a bit more compact. Hopefully they'll be more pleasing to read.
I'll also be labeling reviews as either 'New Release' or 'Old Favorite'. I just think it will be helpful to differentiate between the two. Old favorites, you can pretty much assume I would recommend, while new releases will just be albums I've been looking forward to, but may be rated pretty harshly. Ok then.)

King Midas Sound - Waiting For You (2009)

I first heard this outfit on a dub-step compilation from a label called Hyperdub, which also boasts Burial among its ranks. Indeed, the song they had featured on the comp, Meltdown, sounded quite similar to Burial in my mind. The slow bass-lines, the dark and almost depressing atmosphere, even the haunting vocals. Not identical, but near enough to get me excited for their full release.

On first listen to the full album however, I was very underwhelmed. Most of the songs are very minimal, more so than Burial I'd say. It's just bassline, drums, and vocals on some of the these tracks. It's unfortunate, but I'd have to say the largest variance between the two artists would be the vocals. Where Burial samples soulful sounding R&B'ish vocals that are packed with emotion and heartache, KMS only has the same singer for the majority. He sounds very relaxed and pleasant, but at the same time, sings with the exact same "half-whisper half-singing" tone in every song. It almost sounds like he is trying to lullaby the listener to sleep. Not surprisingly, the best way I could think of to describe this to a new listener would be; the music you might hear in the middle of a dream, as everything around you moves in slow motion and blurs (see the cover). Pleasant and soft enough that it easily gets lost in the background, and never jarring enough to wake you up.

A few of the tracks stand out off the bat, such as the previously mentioned Meltdown. Not to mention the fourth track, Earth a Kill Ya is spoken word poetry, and is also a nice break from the norm on this album. Apart from those two and a couple others though, most of the songs tend to blend together, and this disc might take many spins before the listener will be able to differentiate on their own. After ten or more complete listens at this point, it's grown on my slowly, but is still one of the biggest disappointments I've had in recent months. Looking back now, wanting this to be "the next Burial" and hoping for anything comparative to Untrue was pretty unfair. I think I would have enjoyed this alot more without those preconceived notions going in.

Despite what might look like a negative review...this isn't terrible. Not amazing either, but I'd say it's listenable from time to time. If slow and/or relaxing dubstep is your thing, or you just want something really chill to put in the background while chatting with friends, you might wanna check this out. Personally, just not what I'd hoped for.