The Obliterati

Mission Of Burma has by no means exhausted all its potentials

After almost twenty years of absence a post-punk band Mission Of Burma from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, reunited in 2002. Legendary popular in early eighties, the song That’s When I Reach For My Revolver has brought world fame to guitarist Roger Miller, bassist Clint Conley and drummer Peter Prescott. Today there is also Bob Weston in Mission Of Burma as a tape manipulator and sound engineer, whose role was previously played by Martin Swope. What differs Mission Of Burma from other post punk rockers is that its members have a classical music background education and greatly appreciate the proto-punk of 1960s and early 1970s. Today the group is widely recognized as one of the first to fuse punk and experimental music and one of the best alternative rock bands. The first album after the reformation was called ONoffON and got most emotional reviews mainly expressing happiness with the fact that Mission Of Burma is back. This year The Obliterati has been released, the band’s most emotionally powerful creation ever since the band’s foundation. The songs on the new album are filled with impatience and impudence proving that Mission Of Burma has by no means exhausted all its potentials.

The Obliterati’s negative emotional palette

Each song on The Obliterati demands attention and explodes with emotions. The opener 2wice, an indignant, aggressive track, sets the tone for the whole album and the following song Spider’s Web takes up, striking with even more furious and sharp. The tuneful chorus on Donna Sumeria is able to excite anyone and start sing along to the splendid falsetto vocals. Drummer Peter Prescott’s screaming track Let Yourself Go is a real hardcore punk with a lot of growling and loud amps making the track one of the most feverish moments on The Obliterati. The bass prevails on the powerful Good, Not Great and most of the time does not even let the vocals be heard. In the middle The Obliterati’s is less energetic and more melodious especially on the track Careening With Conviction with its vibrant bass lines and new elements of unusual experimentation. Gradually the tension comes back and leads to the heavy song The Mute Speaks Out, besides, this song is remarkable for its strange drums giving it a kind of depressed feel. It is worth while mentioning also the track Period, for its majestic rock melody and a straighfoward fury imbue it with great strength. The Obliterati closes with another intensive of bass song Nancy Reagan’s Head, ending the negative emotional palette with undisguised hatred.

Mission Of Burma has never sounded so confident, loud and cohesive

Mission Of Burma’s comeback has remained in the past with their new extremely modern creation. There is no nostalgia felt on The Obliterati, despite the techniques, which the guys used today do not differ much from those they used twelve years ago. Their emotions are boiling hotter than ever, although their age is not that young already. The lyrics on the new album have been refined with humor speaking for the fact that the guys still are against of taking everything too seriously. As for the performance, Mission Of Burma has never sounded so confident, loud and cohesive. The Obliterati has all the drive necessary for a top quality punk record, much more than there has been on its predecessor. This breakthrough proves that Mission Of Burma has got a huge store of energy and for sure there are new ideas as well to become the core for the following creative work. With more penetrating growling and outrageous bass and amps sounding The Obliterati is Mission Of Burma’s new masterpiece – the most emotional, the boldest and the funniest album at the same time. After a twenty year long hiatus and a an album that has turned out far ahead than the previous one Mission Of Burma has proved it can go out of the frames of its possibilities and surprise the audience once again.