I first encountered Burma on the radio; "Academy fight Song" and "Revolver" were actually "hits" on a major Boston radio station -- this being waaay back in the day before Clearchannel bought up everything and radio became the same sucky suck on every channel. Good catchy punk songs, they grab you quickly. (Though "Academy" really reveals its multi-tracked mystery in headphones...) It wasn't till some time later, coming down on clear MIT-blotter acid one misty dawn, that I heard "Signals, Calls, and Marches" in full, but when i did, it completely redefined what I thought was possible with a guitar, a bass, and some drums. (And tape loops, aaah, the tape loops...) "Revolver" pulls you in with its angular intensity, shakes you around ("and now the sky is empty, but that is nothing new..."), then leaves you hanging on this melancholy chord, which --before you ever have time to process it-- has Peter Prescott pushing you with his kick drum into "Outlaw", which kicks in with a jagged, ideologically choppy riff. "Fame and Fortune" rolls in on an epic, moody wave, and build in intensity before crashing into this haunting, spacious breakdown that has Roger pulling all sorts of sounds out of his guitar. And for two guys who never really put technique before passion in their vocals, Roger & Clint always come up with these rough harmonies that seem all the more effective for rising out of a sea of noise. (Something Husker Du would later take to the bank...) Side 2 (oops, showing my age) kicks off with "This Is Not A Photograph" which features Dada-esque lyrics, an absolutely PRIMAL riff, and some sicksickSICK slide guitar plunges from Roger. "Red" is a journey through all sorts of terrain; "there's a window in my head", don't you know it. This one starts off thrashing, and dissolves into this abstract chaos, a looping octave-jumping bassline with a completely note-free guitar-solo, and swirling loops of vocal madness that just take this BEYOND. Then it all comes down with the chiming, double-guitar chords of "All World Cowboy Romance", perhaps Burma's most melodic track, and all without a vocal (except for their trademark "oohs" in the background...) Rhytmically, structurally, tonally, lyrically, this band was capable of stuff I haven't heard anyone equal since. (OK, well UZI and early Sonic Youth came close.) But with this band, it all came down to an indefinable mad passion and intensity, and that comes across clearly on this record. I remember deciding to listen to this every day for 100 days straight, and I did, because I wasn't sure I'd ever hear anything as good and I wanted to savor this album, to burn it into my brain so deeply that it would cut the grooves on the grey matter. To this day, I can hear this album note for note in my head, and that's an intimacy I have declined to share with any other record.

okay, I picked this up mainly from hearing that fugazi was influenced by this band and because of the book Our Band Could Be Your Life. I am incredibly pleased that I bought this album. Each song is complex and dense, especially songs like Red and Max Ernst. The guitar, bass, and especially drum playing is really really well done and original. here is a synopsis of each song:

Thats When I Reach for my Revolver- awesome song, great lyrics, one of their poppiest tunes, but still rather good. Its just like Roger Miller said, every song Clint writes he has to include a bass solo. one of the funner songs on the album

Outlaw- straight out of the Gang of Four Bag O' Tricks, this song takes a few listens to appreciate. it is sorta danceable (!) and much better than some Franz Ferdinand songs.

Fame and Fortune- Roger's attempt of writing a commercial song, but still rather good. a highlight, but sadly I havent listened to this album in awhile, so I cant say too much about it. Pretty catchy and strong

This Is Not A Photograph- great song, the cries of "this is not a photograph" is one of the hooks in this song, and its got a few. I like the guitar work.

Red- My favorite lyrics from this EP. great tune...I need to listen to it again.

All World's Cowboy Romance (is that the right title?)- Fun instrumental. I like it when it starts to get really noisy

Academy Fight Song- another one of those "hits" that wasnt actually a hit. their catchiest song, with layers upon layers of guitar. How can you not sing along in the chorus?

Max Ernst- My favorite song off of this. For me, its like their punk song, but its also got experimental stuff, like the weird timed breakdown and the yells of dada. great tune.

I probably should have written this review after listening to this album again, but overall I believe if you know of this album, you are going to buy it. great stuff.

I can't help but note that everything new I hear on the local indie station these days sounds like somebody in the band was a MoB fan. That, or a fan of Gang of Four. Still, this takes nothing away from MoB, which did a much, MUCH better job with this genre than 99% of the imitators- all the way back in 1980. This doesn't sound dated to me, no more so than REM's Murmur, which to me is a completely timeless record. Yeah the critics at Pitchforkmedia slather all over this stuff and maybe it's a bit overdone, but largely the album deserves exactly as much praise as it's gotten. Seminal stuff for sure.

This is my favorite MoB album. In fact, it has what I consider one of the best songs ever written on it: Max Ernst. After having it on album in the 80's, I picked this up on CD a few years ago and listened to it again. Some have said it sounds dated. Yes, it does. But so do The Strokes, White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines, and most other bands out there. At least MoB actually sound like the period they're from. And I'm not knocking all the above mentioned bands, I'm just pointing out that it shouldn't be maligned because it sounds like the era its from.

That's When I Reach for My Revolver is a fantastic song. But the whole album is great. I've been listening to it again consistantly for about 5 years now -- and that's something I never do. It's in my top five albums of the 80's and would be one I carted off to a desert island.

When I want to show someone where the Burma experience began for me I will put this Ep on the turntable. Granted That's When I Reach for My Revolver is the standout track, the nature of the format dictates that featured tracks often eclipse the others on a great many Eps & singles. Perhaps self-consciously avante-garde tracks like This Is Not a Photograph or Max Ernst seem out of place. Max Ernst was a holdover from the pre-Burma band The Moving Parts and Photograph had been refined to such a degree that this version would effectively supplant the earlier version in the minds of all but the completist. How about All World Cowboy Romance, an irresistably silly title behind which a layered and cunning beauty resides. All of that said, if you haven't already purchased VS. (not to be confused with the Pearl Jam album of the same name) then do so without delay. VS. is where anyone interested in Burma should start. Nothing can prepare you. No amount of listening to early glories such as Academy Fight Song (not on Signals, Calls and Marches Ep originally anyway) will come close, so few records have. This endlessly inventive, humorous, passionate and influential collection will stand on its own merits with or without critical acclaim. Like a "..mineral deposit, a ball of mica, inside a rock."! There is no non-essential Mission of Burma.