Signals, Calls and Marches

Performer: Mission of Burma
Producer: Rick Harte
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Mission Of Burma: Clint Conley (vocals, guitar, bass); Roger Miller (guitar, background vocals); Peter Prescott (drums). This 1997 reissue includes 2 bonus tracks not on the original release. Mission of Burma: Roger Miller (vocals, guitar); Clint Conley (vocals, bass guitar); Peter Prescott (vocals, drums). One of America's most important, but most frequently overlooked, punk rock bands, Mission Of Burma released only a handful of records before it disbanded. 1981's SIGNALS, CALLS, AND MARCHES was its debut EP following a seven-inch single, both tracks from which are included on this Ryko CD reissue. "That's When I Reach for My Revolver," built on Peter Prescott's powerful drumming and Clint Conely's heavy bass guitar, is an incisive look at the moment you realize that what you've been taught and what you know are different things. "Fame & Fortune" features a propulsive drum beat and Roger Miller's jagged guitar work, laced with controlled feedback. Another classic, "This is Not a Photograph," highlights scalding, scalpel-sharp guitars, and ends with a faked record skip. The album's last track, "All World Cowboy Romance," is a pretty, five-minute long instrumental with a number of complex strands and few of the jarring breaks that characterize some of the material preceding it. The two tracks from the band's first seven-inch include the spectacular, frequently covered "Academy Fight Song," one of the all-time high points in American punk rock. DVD Features: DVD content: 'Live at the Space and at the Underground, Boston, 1979-80'

Entertainment Weekly (8/01/97, p.75) - "...While some of the sharply geometric riffs and chanted vocals sound dated, the power [with which these tracks are played]...makes almost every album released today sound tame by comparison." - Rating: B+ Q (May 2002, p.132) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...Sounds utterly phenomenal, bleeding elements of free jazz, musique concrete and psychedelia into their Wire-ish post-punk soundscapes..." Mojo (Publisher) (6/02, p.122) - "...Consistently excellent, from the raw beginnings tothe mannered middle, to the documentary robusto..." Record Collector (magazine) (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[P]erhaps their strongest statement, opening with the brilliant 'Academy Fight Song' and the anthemic post-punk classic 'That's When I Reach For My Revolver'..."

The short-lived 1980s Boston outfit Mission Of Burma was one of the most influential American post-punk bands, combining fiercely modernist sonic layers with sheer brute-force, high-volume rock. Eclectic leader Roger Miller subsequently went on to the experimental solo project No Man and the prog-rock band Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic before eventually reforming Mission Of Burma for live performances in 2002 and a 2004 album, ONoffON.

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