Mission of Burma - The Sound, The Speed, The Light (2009, Matador)

Mission of Burma was founded during a truly tumultuous time in music. The no wave scene in New York had peetered out due to vacillating line-ups and few recordings. Howard DeVoto strayed from the Buzzcocks, and the Sex Pistols had already met their abrupt demise. The foreign, energizing breed of music, later to be coined “post-punk,” had yet to catch on, spare a few bands in faraway lands. But while Joy Division and The Pop Group were making noise across the pond, Burma was concocting their own sound in Boston.

During their initial run, Mission of Burma released only two proper works: Signals, Calls, and Marches (1981) and Vs. (1982). Both proved to be extremely influential, and furthermore encouraged the growing post-punk movement in the States. In deep contrast to their musical colleagues, the members of Burma created music that was teeming with a crude, refreshing stamina; it was nothing short of a working man's grounded version of a genre that was otherwise considered darker, existential, and more Dadaist in nature. Because of the band's short life and the quality of the material, its legacy grew and the music never faded into total obscurity. But The Sound, The Speed, The Light (the band's third album since reuniting in 2002 after a nineteen year hiatus) indicates one somewhat disheartening fact: Burma's sound hasn't lessened in quality or edge, but has become less surprising and lacks even the slightest bit of experimentation.

A lot of blood, sweat, and tears from three very dedicated men were poured into the creation of this album, and that's blatantly obvious, judging from the content's intensity. The tracks are well-produced, rich with potent guitar signatures, and lavish with awesome lyrics. But the visionary appeal the band once brought to the music world has considerably vanished. The Sound's instrumentals are mostly predictable, lacking any element of surprise or idiosyncratic wisdom. “1, 2, 3, Partyy!,” is humorous, but it is sadly one of the most conventional ways to start off an album – a component not expected from Burma. “Possession,” a track with a more catchy, enticing rhythm that is not only a choice song, but should also replace the opening track. Other notable numbers include “Forget Yourself,” a brief calm in the middle of Burma's sea of fury, and “SSL 83,” during which guitarist Roger Miller ostensibly summons the strumming sounds of A Certain Ratio's Martin Moscrop. “So Fuck It” is another golden track because of its callousness, and “Slow Faucet” prevails as an appropriate conclusion. However, the album as a whole becomes foreseeable and uniform, therefore rendering it monotonous despite its enthusiasm and ethic.

This is not to say that Mission of Burma has dug themselves into a rut they cannot possibly get out of. The music certainly pleases at first listen, and this is in no way a horrible album from a mediocre bunch of washed up hooligans. However, the guys have produced better work, and as fans anticipate another release, they can only hope that it lives up to 2006's The Obliterati, or even better, their most influential recordings from the scene they so effortlessly helped cultivate.

Lou Barlow - Goodnight Unknown (2009, Merge)

Lou Barlow, who most people know as one-third of newly reunited alt-rock gods Dinosaur Jr., is one of those prolific musicians who's way ahead of his game. After being fired from the band due to a public fallout with bandmate J Mascis, Barlow spent the nineties pursuing solo projects under both his own name and the monikers Sebadoh and Sentridoh. While the material released under such projects served as an awesome and very withstanding foundation for music in the days of burgeoning lo-fi craziness, the stuff he's released under his own name is far more developed and distinguished with an edge only Barlow can create. This trend continues with Goodnight Unknown, which will be released October 6th on Merge records.

As a whole, Goodnight Unknown proves to be one of Barlow's more polished efforts – one the man himself describes as “a cross between my later work with Folk Implosion and my earlier work with Sebadoh...to my ears, anyway.” In deep contrast to 2005's Emoh (a primarily acoustic gem), Unknown is a surging, full-fledged production, from the first chords on the pulsating opening track to the last murmurs on “One Note Tone.” It is also a highly collaborative work, with the Melvins' Dale Crover providing commendable drum work and new producers Lisa Germano and Andrew Murdoch helping the album retain an uniquely appealing energy. Another realization that comes to mind when taking in bits and pieces of Barlow's lengthy catalog (Goodnight Unknown and his Mirror the Eye EP, in particular) is that the bass player from one of the noisiest punk/alternative bands in history can still create songs so deep and mellow that they are just as touching as material on albums released by late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It is this characteristic that makes Barlow's work stand out from that of his colleagues, and this is also an element that makes Unknown one of his best works.

The opener, “Sharing,” encompasses most of the album's drive right off the bat. It's a smooth, well-executed pop song, punctuated by Crover's oscillating drums that are vaguely reminiscent of rhythms used by Bloc Party's Matt Tong. The tempo slows down briefly with “Goodnight Unknown,” but picks up gradually through the next three or four tracks. Staples of the album include “Thinking,” a melodic pop tune with noticeably haunting qualities, and “Praise,” which carries heavy strumming laden with crusading verve. Finally, Unknown concludes well with “One Note Tone,” which is nothing short of a perfect summary, possessing an equal amount of drive, depth, and production. But it's difficult to isolate these songs one by one to analyze the agenda or stylings of each – the whole album is a story, and should be listened to as one cohesive work rather than selected intermittent tracks.

Those expecting Barlow to return to the insane and quirky sounds of Sebadoh's 1991 album III will be disappointed by this album due to its conventional nature and refined sound, but devout Barlow fans and sensible music enthusiasts will treasure it as another gem from a very gifted (and very eclectic) indie demigod.

(Oh, and check out this tidbit!)

Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs (2009, Matador)

Sensible, musically-inclined and usually talented individuals who are romantically involved with one another know that it's not an awesome idea to start a band together. There is always the possibility of that “big break,” and even though we've come to know that phrase in terms of fame, it can also be synonymous with a split in a seemingly invincible relationship from which that outfit was fostered. However, a few couples have been able to withstand the pressures of music and marriage - see Dan Boecker and Alexei Perry of Handsome Furs, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, and Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads. Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, two-thirds of indie rock pioneers Yo La Tengo, not only join these ranks – they surpass them, and their latest album, Popular Songs (released earlier this month on Matador Records), cements such a rarely made statement.

Popular Songs puts their last album, 2006's I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, to shame. While Beat Your Ass is great because of the minimalistic production and appropriated noise, Songs makes a bigger statement by possessing all the characteristics of a genuinely romantic album while staying true to Yo La Tengo disposition. The opener, “Here to Fall,” begins with sounds that carry an Animal Collective likeness, until a slew of strings sweep in as perfect accompaniment not only to the vocals, but to the instrumentation found on later tracks. As one makes their way towards the middle of the album, they will notice that it's similar to an iTunes library on shuffle, especially after going from the energetic, radio-friendly “Nothing to Hide” to the Zombies-esque “Periodically Triple or Double” - nothing short of a musical and lyrical potluck. However, the heart of the album lies within the last few songs. When “All Your Secrets” segues into “More Stars than There Are in Heaven,” we come face to face with Yo La Tengo creating unpretentious, meaningful post-rock; while Godspeed You! Black Emperor brought post-rock to music snobs everywhere, Yo La Tengo does it better, not only by means of ethereal instrumentation and an essence of honest passion, but also by realizing that normal people can't sit through a twenty-two minute song with six or seven movements contained therein. The notable finisher, “And the Glitter is Gone,” is a track heavy with distortion pedals, shoegaze influence, and a feeling of enchantment. It serves as an excellent wrap-up because it does exactly what it's supposed to do: sum up the spirit of the album without being excruciatingly repetitive or belaboring.

As a whole, this album is a manifesto to unspecific, long-lasting love. From start to finish, Kaplan and Hubley metaphorically and musically guide us through a copious amount of emotions. Everything from lust to sadness is contained within these precious seventy-three minutes. It is an honest, relatable testament to how deep love can lie within a given pair of individuals. Undoubtedly, Popular Songs is one of the decade's best albums, and while you might not be falling in love yourself, it's not difficult to fall in love with them.

(Also, take a look at Pitchfork's article on the phenomenal album art!)

Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong (2009, In the Red)

The decade has given us a lot of artists that have tried excruciatingly hard to make their musical catalog as open as possible, which has brought forth an audaciously hip music scene. Any arrangement of animal noises can be made into an LP and filed under “experimental,” which has sadly become just as generic as “alternative.” However, through the bloated mess of GarageBand electrosynth comes a resurgence in lo-fi that falls back on core aspects of punk rock, with bands comprised of young hotheads on stage who break guitar strings and sing-spit into their mics. It is this movement that created and continually praises Vivian Girls, a hodgepodge that's wedged somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and Wipers – their mission: to revive the stripped down proto-punk aesthetic in an era of lengthy post-rock and existentialist drone. Their sophomore effort, Everything Goes Wrong, takes the band's prime elements and doubles them, making it the better of the Girls' two releases.

Purists who are critical of Vivian Girls carry a template of statements regarding the trio's sound: “They can't play! It's all the same!” But these critics are missing the point: the simplicity of Vivian Girls is what makes them an excellent band. They belt out songs about general angst with a great amount of edge – an straightforward approach that proves enjoyable. This, in addition to the acclaim following their first album, caused Everything Goes Wrong to be well-anticipated; there aren't any music geeks in the country that can pass up this quirky, naked noisefest.

Compared to their 2008 debut, Wrong is longer in length and explores darker themes – a statement Cassie Ramone, Kickball Katie, and Frankie Rose have no trouble proving. The band immediately launches their listeners into their unpolished sound with “Walking Alone at Night,” an ironic number because of the dark title and bouncy feel . From there, we segue into the tracks “I Have No Fun” and “Can't Get Over You,” songs that give off a Ramones vibe because of their blunt lyricism. However, with the start of “Tension,” the energy ceases, and the band takes a sharp turn into a song that is, more or less, an eerie ode to their shoegaze influences. At almost three minutes, the eye of the storm doesn't last long: they're back to immersing their listeners in feedback by the next track. Most of the album continues in this fashion, with the two girls lending their lackadaisical vocals and guitars as accompaniment to Rose's drumming. However, the speed ceases for the final time with the conclusion, “Before I Start to Cry,”a sad piece with unworldly vocals and haunting guitars á la Jim Reid – a perfect finish to a near perfect work.

The one problem with this album, as with most lo-fi, is that it can get monotonous; there's an implication that the material will ultimately be better when it's performed live, because the energy would manifest itself in physical form – after all, listening to the Stooges' debut album doesn't compare to seeing Iggy Pop strut around maniacally on stage. But listening to the album by one's lonesome proves less gripping, and therefore less stimulating.

However, Wrong's fault is easy to oversee. It's become undeniably clear that Vivian Girls are this decade's quintessential noise rock act, and while the existence of another release is pending, we can still look to Wrong to deliver that unique Vivian Girls sound that teaches us to opt for the simple instead of the complicated.

(Writer's note: This will be appearing in the 9/23 issue of the Forum. Also, this is the last time I'll use the word "hodgepodge" for a while, no matter how much I like it because it sounds like the name of my favorite glue.)