Vs. [Remastered]

We Say...

Review by Alex Naidus

Boston's leading light of the '80s post-punk explosion, Mission of Burma gained a staunch reputation for infusing art (and artifice) into their dark n' noisy guitar anthems. The prevailing attitude then (and even largely now) is that in order to feel the true brunt of the awesome Burma sound, you had to see 'em live. In part, of course, it was just a matter of sheer volume — the guys were known for sending out sheets of sound the likes of which a hi-fi could never capture. Another MoB live staple, though, was sound collagist/tape head Martin Swope's on-the-fly sound sampling. Often planted in the booth with the soundman, Swope would sample the live performance from the stage through the mixing board, run a series of delays, loops and effects and send a cascading, eerily whitewashed signal out, usually without the crowd having a clue the source of the mountainous, layered noise. This uniquely abrasive and heady sound was (understandably) never fully captured on record. Luckily, even with Swope's contributions rather buried on Vs., Burma makes a mean, inspired racket.



Largely lacking the fistpumping gusto of the preceding, insta-classic Signals, Calls and Marches EP, Vs. relies heavily on squalling and cacophonous stomps. Early highlights like "New Nails" and "Dead Pools" tell the tale nicely: scratchy, minor chord guitar rips, shout-sung sloganeering ("Don't make an idol of me!") and heavy doses of floor tom bashing. You have to sift through quite a few dark dirges before encountering anything resembling a riffy chorus, but when they hit, it's worth the wait. The rollicking "Ballad of Johnny Burma" almost entirely strips the "post" from the punk — it's a blistering three-chord anthem barely nosing over two minutes. It's the canonized (for good reason) "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate" that's the true centerpiece of Vs., though, as singer/guitarist Roger Miller bashes through the downright bouncy tune with a clear sense of vigor. It's a moment of thrilling immediacy and sounds as much like a clarion call as anything Burma recorded. Coming at the end of this tough and ragged record, it plays like a melodic salve. If there's anything you can say about Mission of Burma — they sure make you work for it.