Unsound
by Mission of Burma
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
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  1. pkindieboy
    Aug 29, 2012
    9
    I love these guys; they seeming incapable of making a bad record. This one is more varied sonically, yet still sounds 100% MOB. I especially like 'Dust Devil' and 'Second Television', but the whole album is engaging and high energy. It's different enough that you can't say you've heard it before; yeah you need it.
  2. transfixed
    Jul 17, 2012
    10
    Another great MOB album, ho-hum. I get a certain type of aural pleasure from listening to a new MOB album that I don't get from any of my other albums. They have really perfected post-punk, but at the same time have created this unique sound that nobody could ever copy. What other band has three band members consisting of a drummer, bassist, and guitarist that trades off lead singingAnother great MOB album, ho-hum. I get a certain type of aural pleasure from listening to a new MOB album that I don't get from any of my other albums. They have really perfected post-punk, but at the same time have created this unique sound that nobody could ever copy. What other band has three band members consisting of a drummer, bassist, and guitarist that trades off lead singing duties from song to song with each member owning a unique, perfect voice for the genre? None, in my estimation. Oh yeah, they also together create wonderful vocal harmonies. And the instruments? Do you like idiosyncratic drumming, angular guitar riffs, strange tape manipulations, an overall sonic attack that creates a highly original noise, yet oddly catchy tunes? This is rock music that creates brain cells. I do like this album more than their last also-great album The Sound, The Speed, The Light but not quite as much as Vs., OnOffOn, or The Obliterati. The biggest gripe I have over this one is that it clocks in at only 35 minutes. 2-3 more songs probably would have made this one just as good as their best ones.… Collapse

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. cokemachineglow
    Aug 10, 2012
    74
    Despite its democratic structure, Unsound suffers from a curious sequencing problem, or what we around here like to call Channel Orange-itis--but few bands of their vintage continue to write songs this prolifically or professionally.
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  2. Q Magazine
    Aug 1, 2012
    60
    The neurotic twists and nuances that made 1982's Vs so electrifying are still apparent... further confirmation that Mission of Burma have no intention of either burning out or fading away. [Aug 2012, p.104]
  3. Rolling Stone
    Jul 26, 2012
    70
    Unsound booms with veteran heat and chops, folding in weird trumpet parts, weirder harmonies, tumbling drums and smart punk riffs, praising hi-fi and dissing tiny sounds.
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