Adam Michael Kozak makes the sunniest songs about death and societal collapse you’re likely to hear. His electronic albums as Burial Grid house personal demons, family tragedies, and his own mental health struggles and general disappointment in the world that surrounds him. Yet, there is a warmth in the buzzing hardware and sublime melodies Kozak creates.
His last album, Shores Of Quiddity, was electronic lullabies for the worried, panic-stricken mind. Songs to lull from anxiety and fear into a more subdued place; a place where at the very least we can get a few hours of sleep.
In January of 2023 Burial Grid will release their follow-up to Shores Of Quiddity with Spinal Constellation Records. With that swath of time to wait, Kozak has released three tracks so far from the new record. “It All Ends At Midnight”, “Dream Self”, and “You’re Home, Arturo”. I think originally Kozak was going to release Shores as a double album, but then decided to split it into two releases. Whether this new album is indeed part two of the previous album, the sound and vibe I get from these songs is still one of calm trepidation.
There’s a sense of dipping your toes in unknown waters; that possibly this could be therapeutic for the soul(or it could be acid, or fillled with piranhas, or acid piranhas.) I get a calm sense with all three of these songs. We aren’t in We’ve Come For Your Flesh territory. That album was a ‘dark night of the soul’ situation. With Quiddity and these three new tracks I get a sense of peacefulness. Maybe not contentedness, but possibly curious contemplation at the idea that happiness isn’t completely out of reach. You might lose a limb or two getting there, but at least we know that happiness isn’t part of the predestination package. Even the humble flock can access it, with a little work and letting go of some of that inherent animosity we can easily access.
There’s a bit of a mystery surrounding this new Burial Grid album. No title yet, and only bits of album art have been shared. I’m excited for what’s to come. Let’s just hope we make it to January 2023 before everything goes up in flames. If we don’t, at least we’ll have some calming electronic tomes to ease us into the great abyss as the US crumbles like many great Empires before it. We’ll have Tik Tok to document our descent into Hell, and Burial Grid to soundtrack it.
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