1. chrisg

   10

   Westy done good. Since Burma ended, Rog, Peter, and Clint have gone in numerous different directions and explored all their musical desires. To have their paths intersect now, in this record, and to have the result sound pretty much like what the 2nd record would have sounded like in 1983, is astounding. Roger's ability to take a melody and explode it with noise has probably been enhanced by his work in the last 20 years, but he doesn't overdo it here, remembering that he's the guitar player in a rock band. Clint's sweet tunes and one-measure bass solos have not diminished at all and remain my favorite part of Burma. Pete, back behind the drums, has benefitted from the years as well, finding a new confidence and looseness in his playing. Of the three, Pete seems to have changed the most. His Volcano Suns years have given him a confidence in his songwriting that did not manifest during Burma's previous life. His songs and voice are the most distictive here, and sometimes this record sounds like 3 Suns songs wrapped in a Burma record, albeit the Suns with the best guitar player they ever had. With that said, Pete's songs are among my favorites here, especially "The Enthusiast". I could go on and on, but the point is, as many others have said: this record manages to blow away most of the loud guitar rock from the last 15 years, and sound fresh and new, while still sounding like Burma. Oooh and Bob - having been handed an opportunity to record the most important record in a long time, you have done a masterful job of capturing the band as they are. This record doesn't jump out at me like Vs, but it still has a sparkle and an energy and a simplicity, despite the sonic din, that makes it an honest document, which is all I could ask for. Bob: nice work. And I know how much this project meant to you. Congratulations Gerard: you finally got to put out a Burma record! And it's a good one!… Expand

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2. PatrickT

   10

   MOB leads me to think of convoy after convoy racing for a bottleneck where only one single unit may emerge victorious. left behind is the wreckage, both metallic and vaporous, a roadblock to the uninspired who reside in fast and trash culture of today's consumerism. … Expand

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3. Will

   10

   I always thought Burma were not a little influenced by Hendrix (Don't tell me that "eyes of men" was not informed" by "love or confusion"). Miller's playing on this record hit me like a chtonic meld of Jimi's heavy rhythm work and feedback --similarly thick, syncopated. Similarly Conley's bass playing seems similarly informed by Hendrix's playing, with his lushly melodic chording, hammered _on off on_ harmolodicism. Prescott often sounds like a less busy, more angular Mitchell. _OnoffOn_ it is a great album. I haven't heard anything with this much varied greatness in a while. When listening to 'falling' I can't stop thinking of the jumpers from the top of the burning trade towers ("tallest building", "heard you calling", etc.); I also remember hearing something about T. Donnelly --whose backups are tender and beautiful-- falling off a bike as a kid and breaking some teeth. Not naming any more individual sounds, or citing sources --all too easy--, I will say the chemistry is almost too good between the three musicians. It's refreshing to hear each of them sing alternately alone and in unison. BTW the Weston's production is unobtrusive, yet brings the sound a fullness like a thick lager, not quite an ale --perfect. I still can't tell when it's fake blood, and can't wait to land, but who can? … Expand

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