Mission accomplished on ‘Signals, Calls and Marches’

Spencer Patterson

Friday, March 4, 2005 | 8:47 a.m.

I first checked out Mission of Burma in the early 1990s, when I noticed lots of the bands I liked citing them as an influence.

R.E.M., Fugazi and Yo La Tengo were a few of the groups singing the Boston quartet's praises, which I found interesting, considering those three groups don't share much musical footing.

So I picked up Mission of Burma's 1981 EP, "Signals, Calls and Marches," and before long it all made sense.

Over the course of just six songs -- now supplemented on a CD reissue by two bonus tracks -- the Mission men boldly experiment with sound, never settling for one approach or style.

You can definitely hear echoes of the jittery punk of Fugazi, on forceful leadoff track "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and on "Max Ernst," one of the additional cuts culled from the band's 1980 debut single.

Also present are hints of the melodic jangle of early R.E.M., on the Wire-esque "This is Not a Photograph" and on "Academy Fight Song," a tune actually covered by Michael Stipe & Co. onstage over the years.

And sprinkled throughout "Signals, Calls and Marches" are pieces of Yo La Tengo's early noise-rock puzzle, courtesy of Mission of Burma's secret weapon, tape-manipulator Martin Swope.

Swope opted out when the band reunited in 2002, some 19 years after it originally called it quits.

Guitarist/vocalist Roger Miller, bassist/vocalist Clint Conley and drummer/ vocalist Peter Prescott were back, however.

They resurrected their creative, arty outfit with live dates and a new studio album, last year's excellent "OnOffOn" (only the band's second full-length studio album, following 1982's "Vs.").

I caught Mission of Burma's set at 2003's "All Tomorrow's Parties" festival in Long Beach, Calif., and they sounded fantastic.

If you get a chance, try to track them down the next time they tour. And you never know. Your favorite band just might be sitting next to you.

Artist: Mission of Burma.

Title: "Signals, Calls and Marches."

Year of release: 1981 (reissued 1997, Rykodisc).

Tracklisting: "That's When I Reach For My Revolver," "Outlaw," "Fame and Fortune," "This is Not a Photograph," "Red," "All the World Cowboy Romance." Bonus tracks: "Academy Fight Song," "Max Ernst."