Burial

Burial's debut mapped rain-soaked South London through vinyl hiss, sampled voices and skeletal 2-step rhythm as a fully realized world in its own right, not a sketch waiting for a sequel to perfect it. 'Night Bus' does the whole atmosphere in miniature and 'Distant Lights' is where the 2-step skeleton shows through. Its atmosphere-first, song-optional approach to bass music was itself the innovation, holding a distinct tension between menace and tenderness that stands on its own.

The debut, colder and emptier and in some ways braver. More rain, less melody, and a sense of a city photographed at the hour when nobody sensible is out. The template Untrue then filled in.