The Obliterati
by Mission of Burma
  • Record Label: Matador
  • Release Date: May 23, 2006
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16

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  1. ThomG
    Dec 5, 2006
    10
    Almost as good as Vs.
  2. TomH.
    May 23, 2006
    9
    Oh, Mission of Burma...you will always have a place in my heart. I can't believe they're a real band again. It's like some sort of dream, and I never want to wake up.
  3. DaveA
    May 27, 2006
    0
    sucks.
  4. AncientPistol
    May 27, 2006
    10
    Easily the best album of the year. Considering the dreck that seems to pass a popular music these days, this cd shines light into the dark corners of current music in a way that makes you believe that their is hope for aggressive sonic experimentation in music today.
  5. LeeW
    Jun 16, 2006
    1
    Since this album got such good reviews here, I tried listening to a few songs. "Nancy Reagan" was like hearing The Shaggs fronted by a man having a late mid-life crisis.
  6. BrendanD
    Jun 30, 2006
    10
    While the Burmese dudes and the ex-Grandaddy fellows battle it out for best album of the first half of 2006, I'd like to take a moment to explain why this record is a masterpiece. It is for precicely the reason that Lee W gave it a 1, except for one thing that Lee overlooked: there are few albums that rock this hard and can claim to have killer melodies on every single track. While the Burmese dudes and the ex-Grandaddy fellows battle it out for best album of the first half of 2006, I'd like to take a moment to explain why this record is a masterpiece. It is for precicely the reason that Lee W gave it a 1, except for one thing that Lee overlooked: there are few albums that rock this hard and can claim to have killer melodies on every single track. That's a feat never accomplished by even the best of the grunge-era bands, and even punk masters like the Ramones weren't always able to stay tuneful. Mission of Burma, however, always has, and they've now proven it with three masterpiece albums. Don't fool yourselves; this is nowhere near the greatest record of all time, and it still can't compare to "Signals, Calls and Marches." But take a gander at "Donna Sumeria," my favorite track on here, and you'll hear the full difference between punk and post-punk. Both punk and post-punk are all about big, exciting, tuneful choruses; but whereas punk songs get to those choruses as fast as they can (or, in the case of the best of punk tunes, they just begin with the chorus), post-punk songs take their time, building it up until you feel like you're about to burst, then taking your head off by making the chorus better than you ever could have imagined. Mission of Burma pulled this trick geniously on one of the greatest songs of all time, "That's When I Reach For My Revolver," and they pull it off again on "Donna Sumeria." But that's not to say that the rest of this album doesn't kick every listener, male of female, in the figurative balls. Beginning with the unreal "2wice," there are licks that Kurt Cobain would have killed for (and Cobain had some pretty great licks himself); "The Mute Speaks Out" plays like the greater psychedelic period of the Smashing Pumpkins never existed; and even the worst track on the record, "Period," could have been a big underground hit at the '70s CBGB scene. This album is absolutely stellar, a third masterpiece for the reunited geniuses.… Expand
  7. MarkD.
    May 24, 2006
    10
    Album of the year, thus far. New bands will be weened on this 20 years from now. I can't believe how good it sounds.
  8. PaulH.
    May 26, 2006
    10
    Sure critics, go ahead and overpraise that piece of crap from Thursday and ignore a masterpiece like The Obliterati. Suckers. Mission Of Burma are still incredible, and if this doesn't make your best-of-2006 list, I feel sorry for you.
  9. TomC
    May 29, 2006
    9
    This has definitely suprised me. I absolutely love it and cannot stop listening to it. Definitely one of my favorites of the last few months, for sure.
  10. CalmeaT
    Jun 29, 2006
    10
    Great album! I'd give it an 11 if I could. Way better than OnOffOn and up there with Vs.
  11. SpencerO
    Jun 4, 2006
    10
    Best album of 2006. MoB proves that their reunion was not a mistake. Still putting out classic rock albums that will be looked back upon as classics. You do yourself a disservice by not going out and buying this album immediatly
  12. [Anonymous]
    May 23, 2006
    10
    Scores better than their last album... and their last album was pretty damn good. Solid from beginning to end. Easily one of the best albums of the year.

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Best Album of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Blender
    70
    A fierce, arty mix of melody and brute clatter. [Jun 2006, p.141]
  2. cokemachineglow
    82
    They’ve managed to produce the best American rock record of the year so far.
    Read full review
  3. Billboard
    70
    The melodic yet dissonant sea of guitar attack Burma brings to the table sounds arguably more relevant today than it did 20 years ago.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »