While sounding like neither, this album captures the epic struggle between the band's two yin and yang main influences, Pere Ubu and the Stooges. Tearing through outright punk rockers like "That's how I escaped my certain Fate" with authority, they still manage to sculpt delicate beauties like "Trem Two" and "Einstein's Day". A thinking band that rocked, Burma was unmatched on these shores and equaled only by the best worldwide (Gang Of Four's "Entertainment"). And even their equals couldn't cover the breadth of material these guys seemingly effortlessly spun on a regular basis. This album dwarfed all that came before & altered all that would follow, leading the way for bands like Husker Du & The Minutemen to release masterworks of their own a year later. That Burma never recorded another album supplies post-punk with a tragedy on a scale (musically speaking) with Buddy Holly's death.

Mission of Burma is probably the best kept secret in old school punk rock. Next to the Clash, they are probably my favorite punk band of all time. And Vs. is the undeniable masterpiece.

I call Mission of Burma a punk band, but if it was released today, it would problably just be labeled as indie rock. You are not going to mistake this album for the Dead Kennedys or even the Sex Pistols for that matter. But Vs. is often just as intense and visceral as any album by those punk bands. One of the biggest differences is the instrumentation. Most of their songs are mid tempo, and have dense layers of jangly guitar lines. Infact, some of their songs don't sound all too different from REM's instrumentation. However, what makes this album so gripping is it's ability to invoke feelings of nervousness, paranoia, and great urgency. I think the only band that I can compare Mission of Burma to is Gang of Four. There are 16 tracks on this album, and every song is performed with incredible conviction. My personal faves are "Secrets", "New Nails", "Weatherbox" and "Fun World".

Long story short, if you like indie rock or punk rock, it doesn't get much better than Vs. Also, I strongly recommend checking out the Signals Calls, and Marches EP. (It contains the fantastic "academy fight song" as well as "That's when I reach for my revolver.")

If I could listen to "Einstein's Day" on endless loop for the rest of my life, I think I'd die a happy man.

Everything else considered, Mission of Burma was the greatest rock and roll band of the 1980s. This is their only full length album. You figure it out. Passionate, technically adventurous and altogether brilliant, this is the best punk rock ever got. . Enough mindless praise though, this is and likely will be a band unknown to the general populace and that's fitting. They never became the famous but still respected musical giants that they deserve to be. Instead they went further. Listen to Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Listen to the Volcano Suns. Listen to No Man. Listen to all of that brilliant music you'll never hear. While you're at it go buy the Pere Ubu box set. And if you do hear any of this music, say hello to Martin in Hawaii.

Vs. is truly one of the most criminally underrated and best albums that the 1980's produced. Mission of Burma's career was way too short, but Vs. is a very good indication of what they were capable of. It's another one of those albums that does not sound dated despite coming out nearly twenty years ago. Staind, Korn, and every other pseudo-angst band only wish they could be as angry, intense, and emotional as "Secrets," "Dead Pool," and "Mica." "Trem Two" is an incredible single while "That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate" is one of the best songs punk rock produced. The original album stands superbly on its own, but the bonus tracks are very good especially "Progress." Vs. took a few listens to get used to, but it has easily become one of my favorites punk albums, or one of my favorite albums in general, of all-time. This is truly underrated and should by no-means be overlooked. Mission Of Burma had so much potential and who knows what they could have done if they had continued. Thankfully, we have Vs.