First off, if a record comes out on Deranged Records, I’ll give it a chance without knowing anything about the band prior to listening to it (this CD is a perfect example of that). Deranged’s honcho Gord has consistently great taste and isn’t genre-locked beyond liking a broad swath of excellent punk rock. Burial’s from Germany, sing in English, sound like they’re a third from Sweden (from the d-beats and the cymbals assassination) a third from Japan (oh-so-tight, Gauze-like songs that squeeze all the air out of a room) and a third from America (the wide and gloomy atmospheres of Tragedy). Instead of a studied, laborious mix of three different approaches to playing, it’s all melded together with some new sort of crazy glue and flies around seamlessly. It’s also as immediate and threatening as being thrown out of a fast-moving car with handcuffs. Really good stuff.
–todd (Deranged)