Um, can someone please tell me where the hell I've been? Mission of Burma's had a new live EP out for over two months and I hear about it for the first time today? Snapshot is only available as an iTunes download (standard Apple pricing, so it's $7.92 for eight songs). Here's a track by track review on first (and second) listen:
- Tremolo: Great stuff. More...thoughtful than the version from The Horrible Truth About Burma. I wouldn't say it's better, but it's a worthy addition to the canon.
- Mica: In the same vein. Not quite as urgent as the kick-ass original on Vs., but still solid. Bob Weston fills in for Martin Swope really well almost everywhere, but I do miss Swope's work here.
- Youth of America: Cover of a Wipers song, which I think Burma might have played when I saw them in May 2005 in DC. Sounds vaguely familiar, at any rate. A nice psychotic break by Roger Miller mid-song, but otherwise just so-so.
- Absent Mind: The only song from 2005's ONoffON, and not the cut I would have chosen. I always want to like Peter Prescott's songs more than I actually do. I don't begrudge him the airtime--I have to assume that Burma's egalitarian approach to songwriting has a lot to do with their overall aesthetic and even helped get them back together. But...oh, well.
- Red: The neglected gem from Signals, Calls and Marches. Great song, great version, with an outstanding Bob Weston/Roger Miller freakout.
- That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate: Can I say "anthemic" without calling down the Poseur Police? OK, then: anthemic. Gets my sclerotic heart racing every time.
- Max Ernst: Solid effort--very heavy and dark. It's a bit overrated because Rykodisc left it off that compilation years ago, and only elderly punks who bought the original 7" had heard it...but I digress.
- Dirt: Great song, one of my favorite Burma tunes...and I know I sound like a dipshit math rock nerd when I say this...but the version here--basically the same as the one from ONoffON--seems just a little slower than the one from Mission of Burma/Peking Spring. Doesn't it? It doesn't? Well, I just like the old one better--my sclerotic heart needs the boost.
Bottom line: Probably only for obsessive Burma fans--but are there any other kind? David Raposa has a good review in Pitchfork as well--I think he went a little easy on them (8.2!), but it's a well-written piece.
And on top of all this Burma's new album, The Obliterati, will be released on May 9th, and they're about to start a tour that will bring them to little old San Francisco on February 23rd. See you there.
tag: mission of burma
