mission of burma - the obliterati

Bands aren't supposed to do things like Mission of Burma does them. Especially not post-punk bands. They played out their career as planned, releasing one classic album among a string of impressive EPs, and then called it a day. Normally you'd chalk it up to drugs or suicide or a freak accident, but hearing loss works fine too. And that's it. Done. Sink back into the forgotten halls of post-punk one-off's that could've really been something and join a supergroup with a member of Blondie or the Talking Heads.

But no. These guys reunite, a dozen years after Vs. 12 years. This is not supposed to happen. But whatever, it's fine, let them put out their little shitty comeback record and have their day in the sun. Which they did.

Only Onoffon was fucking good. Like really good. Like you'd be forgiven if you were listening to it for the first time and couldn't tell it apart from Vs. Bands don't do repeat their glory days after a 12 year hiatus.

So they broke the mold, interrupted the routine, that's fine. One good album and a trip around the festival circuit back they go into obscurity and all is well with the world.

No. Then they release The Obliterati. And it's really, really fucking good. I mean this album is better than Vs. It's better than any album anybody put out in the wake of punk, and these guys are fucking old now.

You can't play angry abrasive angsty music when you're past your thirties. You just can't. (Unless your name is Steve Albini, of course.) But these guys do. The last track on the album is called "Nancy Reagan's Head," for fuck's sake. Who the hell do these guys think they are? This is not how the world works. Somebody should write a letter.