Rival Dealer
| Rival Dealer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by Burial | ||||
| Released | 11 December 2013 | |||
| Length | 28:33 | |||
| Label | Hyperdub | |||
| Producer | Burial | |||
| Burial chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 83/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Consequence of Sound | B |
| Cuepoint | A |
| NME | 9/10 |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10 |
| Resident Advisor | 4/5 |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| Slant Magazine | |
| XLR8R | 9/10 |
Rival Dealer is the seventh extended play by British electronic music artist Burial. It was issued by record label Hyperdub and released digitally on 11 December 2013, with a physical release following five days later.
On 2 December 2013, a Cargo Records distribution email revealed that record label Hyperdub would release a three-track EP of Burial material on 16 December in vinyl and CD formats, designated with the catalogue number HDB080. His first release since Truant / Rough Sleeper the year prior, it was also revealed to have a 28-minute running time. On 11 December, Hyperdub made the EP available to purchase digitally through their website and uploaded its three tracks – "Rival Dealer", "Hiders" and "Come Down to Us" – to YouTube.
Unlike previous Burial releases, Rival Dealer maintains a significant theme throughout its three tracks. In a rare public message to BBC Radio 6 Music, Burial himself clarified that he wanted the songs to be "anti-bullying tunes that could maybe help someone to believe in themselves, to not be afraid, and to not give up, and to know that someone out there cares and is looking out for them."
FACT magazine reviewer Tom Lea called the EP a story about "love, confusion and relationships", citing the track "Come Down to Us" as a primary example. The track uses a sample from a speech by filmmaker Lana Wachowski at the 2012 Human Rights Campaign gala.
All three tracks contain samples from an interview with NASA scientist Melissa Dawson Higgins.
Upon its release, Rival Dealer received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds an average score of 83, indicating "universal acclaim".Pitchfork awarded it their "Best New Music" accolade, and reviewer Larry Fitzmaurice noted a significant change in Burial's sound.Resident Advisor's Kit Macdonald noted that the album, despite being a diverse moment in Burial's career, puts him in a "new creative sweet spot".FACT magazine also noted the change in direction, and whilst giving the EP a very positive review, also acknowledged that it was the most divisive release by Burial so far. Writing for Cuepoint, Robert Christgau said the EP offers him the same satisfaction as Youssou N'Dour's 2007 album Rokku Mi Rokka and Into the Music (1979) by Van Morrison, and wrote in summation:
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