The Sound The Speed The Light

It sounds like, well, another solid Mission Of Burma record. [Nov 2009, p.110]

A surprising change of pace for a band that shows no signs of slowing down.

Burma’s ragged and raging record is a start-to-finish blast, but don’t miss out on the party’s substance: crafty vocals, heroic guitars, dark humor, steely resolve.

This album sounded exactly as I imagined it would, sounding pumped in straight from a dingy practice space from the early 80’s. It’s just that the music sounds more in service to the post-punk ideal than to the individual songs, affecting a feeling of taking a wild trip through a style instead of offering memorable individual experiences.

The trio continue to demonstrate their chops and their wit over these 41 minutes.

The Sound The Speed The Light is as good as "Obliterati."

Even if this is a by-the-numbers creation, it certainly adopts the same fiery posture that every Burma album encompasses. It just has to be looked upon with a different mindset. So here’s a toast to conviction.

It would've been easy to let The Sound cruise from there, filling it with solid also-rans. But the energy level and commitment continue unabated.

The band rolls out another solid, if slightly unspectacular album.

The Sound the Speed the Light pushes the same boundaries that Mission of Burma has always pushed, and no doubt it will lose points for not pushing any new boundaries.

This isn't quite their peak (not least since it seems to have been recorded in a shed next to a motorway), but when they hit their stride it's clear why they're so revered, most thrillingly on the anthem that is, 1,2,3, Partyy!, the stentorian Forget Yourself or the beguiling closer, Slow Faucet. [Jan 2010, p. 122]

The Sound The Speed The Light may not reach the same heights as its predecessor, but it shows Mission Of Burma still in fine form, and making rock’s most improbable comeback look easy.

While The Sound The Speed The Light might not push the band beyond the ground they’ve already covered, it goes a long way towards proving that “more of the same” isn’t so bad when it comes from the right outfit.

What's remarkable though, is the seamless way in which they carried on from where they left off after their two-decade hiatus: although this sounds modern, it still has enough of their early urgency, once more balancing the anthemic ("SSL83", "One Day We Will Live There") with a thrilling sense of a band about to career off-course at any moment. [Jan 2010, p. 121]