Send "Mission of Burma " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 In their first go-round in the early 1980s, Mission of Burma were equal parts innovation and perspiration. Their muscular post-punk was groundbreaking, but it also had a workman-like quality. Maybe that's what made them unique-- Roger Miller, Clint Conley, and Peter Prescott always had their noses to the grindstone even when they were being visionary. Since reforming in 2002, Burma haven't been nearly as pioneering. But their hard-toiling side has not only persisted, it has expanded to fill in the gap.Of their three post-reunion albums so far, The Sound the Speed the Light sounds the most industrious, the most like another day at the office. There's nothing surprising here, and some songs are so signature-styled you might wonder if you've heard them before. But when it comes to office work, Burma's day beats most bands' years. So the lack of surprise also means a lack of flaws, and a lot of energy and power. When these guys punch the clock, they take the phrase literally. So yet another Burma album hits the ground running, this time with "1,2,3 Partyy!", a seriously fun song about how funny it is that someone would take partying seriously. That energy spills into "Possession", which swings between weight-lifting pound and a wistful chorus, with lots of Miller guitar grit in between. Later, Conley's bass melodies and half-spoken lyrics turn "Forget Yourself" into a thoughtful semi-ballad. By time the anthemic "SSL 83" carries the record to its halfway point, it's been six straight unimpeachable tunes, forming an album side that rivals any Burma album side....full text |
| Prefixmag |
| With The Sound of the Speed of Light, the band’s third album for Matador since their early-2000s comeback, Mission of Burma prove definitively that there is a difference between a reunion and a really long hiatus. Continuing to sound as urgent and vital as they did over a quarter of a century ago, they handily put to rest any fears that a Weirdness or Jericho might be lurking in their future catalog. The Sound of the Speed of Light, due in early October, posits that decades-long gap that separated releases as a necessary stage in the band’s creative development rather than your standard break up....full text |
| Greenshoelace |
| For a band who started off by recording one full length album, taking a 22 year hiatus, separating into more than 10 different side projects including a short lived stint in the film score business and broadcast journalism, then reuniting to release two new works in the course of two years, it’s no stretch to say the chronicles of Mission Of Burma are unconventional. The same goes for the bands newest release The Sound The Speed The Light (Matador). An eclectic arrangement of both intensity and musical composition, the album creates the same murky (in a good way) feeling of being lost in the tracks the same way their previous works have. Put simply, by their own standards, Mission Of Burma’s new album is conventionally unconventional. Part of the bands lure isn’t just that they stand as one of the invisible pillars of 80s and 90’s rock music, (which they entirely do) it’s that they’re able, with one song, to make a sort of maze that you have no problem getting lost in. Upbeat guitar and rhythm sections trailed by drawn out guitar solos and bridges create an intense framework for a song that can envelop a room without a moments rest. Unlike a lot of bands who try their hand at this kind of music, the sound doesn’t have an overloading “When is this song going to end?” type of feel. Think fillet mignon and not an all steak buffet; think “Refused” not “Dave Matthews.” Incredibly, the impressive feat of Mission of Burma is that they maintained their own style in The Sound The Speed The Light. Deep, melodic harmonies and rhythms are pleasant accents to heavy and intense fist-pounding tracks. The whole canvas of the album reads like an EKG meter with songs like the (sort of) title track “SSL 83,” a soothing yet mildly tense power-pop kind of song that would remind you of such modern day disciples like The Shins or The Anniversary. Following their walk in the garden is an energetic, knock-the-books-off-the-goddamn-shelves style anthem named “One Day We Will Live There” not unlike that of Cursive or Mewithoutyou. The only difference, and mild injustice to comparing them to recent examples, is that Mission of Burma has been doing it all along and they’ve done nothing short of keeping it real, and keeping the music theirs. When listening to tracks from The Sound The Speed The Light, you get the idea that this randomly poetic, seemingly coffee infused style of music comes entirely natural to the guru-status holding foursome....full text |
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