When Mission of Burma released Onoffon in 2004, a large part of the album's charge for fans came from the mere fact it existed at all -- after calling it quits in 1983 thanks to Roger Miller's hearing problems, Mission of Burma seemed like the least likely of all great bands to reunite, and that they were able to reconvene in the recording studio without embarrassing themselves felt nearly as important as the quality of the music, strong and powerful as it was. So the fact MoB are still together in 2006 ups the ante for their second post-reunion album, and The Obliterati wastes no time proving that Onoffon's excellence was neither a fluke nor a trick of post-punk nostalgia. While the presence of songs like "Prepared" and "Nicotine Bomb" on Onoffon suggested maturity had made Mission of Burma a more subtle band, The Obliterati is the most aggressive and physically powerful record they've created to date -- from the moment "2wice" bursts from the speakers, this music never stops exploding like an artfully arranged case of fireworks, and the liberating energy and righteous rage of these 14 songs easily matches their salad days of combining the guitar-powered rage of punk with the intelligence and sonic adventure of art rock. While The Obliterati is short on explicit sloganeering, much of the disc's fury is clearly motivated by the polarizing policies of the George W. Bush administration, and "1001 Pleasant Dreams," "Nancy Reagan's Head," "Period," and "Spider's Web" find them putting their anger to excellent use -- this stuff is all crashing percussion from Peter Prescott, thick but nimble basslines from Clint Conley, and guitar leads from Roger Miller that hit their mark like a crystal sledgehammer. And while "Donna Sumeria" and "13" take a slightly more measured approach, both rise into a glorious peals of noise before they leave the stage. Bob Weston's engineering captures Burma's high-impact sound with commendable clarity and crunch, and his tape loops and sonic manipulations bring imaginative and effective punctuation to the arrangements. Mission of Burma's ability to rock out in a smart and ambitious manner without sacrificing their edgy, potent force has consistently made them one of the few bands to fully balance the mind-body equation, and The Obliterati suggests their music has been on a solid workout regimen that would exhaust Henry Rollins, while their brains can keep up without breaking a sweat. Sonic rabble-rousing doesn't get much better than this.
Mission of Burma Live in BostonPearl StreetNorthampton, MA USASeptember 21, 2007by Jennifer Kelly When is a reunion show not a reunion show?Maybe when a legendary post-punk band — out of commission for a couple of decades and then miraculously back — decides that it no longer has to play its best-known songs in the course of a night. (That's right, a Mission of Burma show with no "That's When
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Apologies to anyone who's seen this before (in its raw unedited form), but here's a link to my write-up of the Mission of Burma/Oneida show that I was all excited about a few blogs ago. It was a really excellent show, and if you get a chance to see either of these bands, I'd definitely encourage you to do it.http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/concerts/10593/mission-of-burma-oneida/
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Mission of Burma did a blistering rocking show at The Paradise on Thursday, July 13th. Truly memorable with a great mix of the old and new, the old songs as vital and energetic as the newer. The crowd was packed and jumping having been energized by contrasting but enjoyable sets by the 2 lead off bands: Hurray for Earth and Neptune. If anyone doubts, though, whether Burma is back, they are back...
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_IMHO_ This is more of a love fest than a war ... but that's alright because I'm a lover not a fighter. :) In light of that, for this one I'm throwing the notion out the window that the artist has to have been a true punk pioneer ... this track is from a live show this year (couldn't find a video) and it rocks, so there!
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Mission of Burma Live in BostonPearl StreetNorthampton, MA USASeptember 21, 2007by Jennifer Kelly When is a reunion show not a reunion show?Maybe when a legendary post-punk band — out of commission for a couple of decades and then miraculously back — decides that it no longer has to play its best-known songs in the course of a night. (That's right, a Mission of Burma show with no "That's When
More >
Apologies to anyone who's seen this before (in its raw unedited form), but here's a link to my write-up of the Mission of Burma/Oneida show that I was all excited about a few blogs ago. It was a really excellent show, and if you get a chance to see either of these bands, I'd definitely encourage you to do it.http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/concerts/10593/mission-of-burma-oneida/
More >
Mission of Burma did a blistering rocking show at The Paradise on Thursday, July 13th. Truly memorable with a great mix of the old and new, the old songs as vital and energetic as the newer. The crowd was packed and jumping having been energized by contrasting but enjoyable sets by the 2 lead off bands: Hurray for Earth and Neptune. If anyone doubts, though, whether Burma is back, they are back...
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 2wice |
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| 2 Spider's Web |
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| 3 Donna Sumeria |
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| 4 Let Yourself Go |
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| 5 1001 Pleasant Dreams |
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| 6 Good, Not Great |
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| 7 13 |
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| 8 Man in Decline |
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| 9 Careening with Conviction |
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| 10 Birthday |
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| 11 The Mute Speaks Out |
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| 12 Is This Where? |
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| 13 Period |
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| 14 Nancy Reagan's Head |
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| 15 Live at Tsongas Arena [DVD][Live][*] |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "The Obliterati")
