Mission of Burma: Signals, Calls, and Marches (with download) [MATADOR]

Why you'll love it

Mission of Burma's debut is a cornerstone of American post-punk, and "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" is one of the great anthems of the era.

This edition

• Download card included
• Includes the singles "Academy Fight Song" and "Max Ernst"

About the album

Boston in 1981 had a band louder and stranger than anyone around them, and this was their opening shot. Mission of Burma's debut EP, first out on the local Ace of Hearts label, captured Roger Miller, Clint Conley, Peter Prescott and tape manipulator Martin Swope at full tilt.

"That's When I Reach for My Revolver" leads the way, an anthemic chorus wrapped in jagged guitar, and it's been covered by Moby and loved by every indie kid since. This edition adds the singles, including the urgent "Academy Fight Song," later covered by R.E.M., alongside "Fame and Fortune," "Outlaw" and "Max Ernst."

It's the blueprint for a lot of what American indie rock would become in the decade that followed.

Also at Kops: more Mission of Burma on vinyl · browse Punk

Tracklist

Listen

On Matador (cat# OLE 867-1), a reissue of the 1981 EP.