Mission of Burma is Mission of Burma. That’s just the simple fact of the band. Their brawny, angular post-punk is, as the annoying/astonishingly accurate cliché goes, is what it is. The fact that they took a nearly 20 year break after 1983 doesn’t really seem to change that, either. That isn’t to say that the music’s uninteresting or anything; in fact, their noisy, math-y, often-complicated take on punk (along with groups like Pere Ubu and The Fall) pushed the genre’s envelope into the absurd. And new release The Sound The Speed The Light doesn’t change the equation all that much, either, which, in this case, proves to be a good thing.
To be frank, The Sound.. could be an early 80’s Mission of Burma record. But, so did post-reunion records Onoffon and Obliterati, only occasionally showing signs that they were shaking off 19 years of rust. Now that the rust’s all gone (thanks in part to raucous, thumping live shows), the four-piece have no problem keeping the noise-melody-noise thing sound just as powerful as their 80’s records.
And, with an opening track like “1, 2, 3, Partyy!” (yes, those two y’s are intentional, don’t ask me), it’s clear that they haven’t lost any of their edge. The chunky, punching guitar and lines like “Drink only when drunken to” are gleefully goofy, and, considering their back catalog, smirkingly snarky. “Possession” continues in line, one continuously stuttered, clambering sneer. The track features Peter Prescott’s intense, inventive drumming, a major part of Mission of Burma’s core appeal and sound.
Later, “Forget Yourself”, a ballad, or as close to it as the group gets, takes the fuzz off some, leaving glimmering walls of guitar and a smoldering, soft-speaking Clint Conley. Conley even dabbles with a semi-falsetto as Roger Miller’s guitar jolts through the foggy sheen. “SSL 83” is an anthem to the core, all practiced muscle, crescendo and power. It’s clear, especially on this song, that the band knows exactly what they’re doing, and not from any intuition, but from practice. Lots of practice. Despite the fact that they’re playing and writing songs that sound so similar conceptually to their old material, these songs aren’t retreads. They are new, fully formed beasts that just happen to be very closely related to their ancestors.
“So Fuck It” sums up the group’s attitude pretty well all on its own. A western-esque guitar squeal opens the song, before a shuddering bass and pummeling drum beat add to the mix. The vocals are very punky (see: shouted), the heart of the song alternating with perfectly timed mathy breaks. There’s a screeching vocal solo that meets with grunty howls. The line “Everybody tries to tell me what…” falls away, refusing to follow the cliché’d punk phrase. “What to do” would fit, but they’re not going to give you the same old line. They could’ve very well finished it, we all know what would go next, but fuck it. That would be boring. And Mission of Burma certainly isn’t boring.
Check Out:
“1, 2, 3, Partyy!”
