Vs. (Mission of Burma album)



Vs. is the debut studio album by American post-punk band Mission of Burma. It was released in 1982 by record label Ace of Hearts.

Content
Vs. features a rougher, more difficult sound than the band's debut release, the 1981 EP Signals, Calls, and Marches.

Release
Vs. was released in 1982 by record label Ace of Hearts. It is the only full studio album the band released during the 1980s, as soon afterward they disbanded due to Roger Miller's worsening tinnitus.

Critical reception
Vs. has been well received by critics.

In his retrospective review, Mark Deming of AllMusic opined that Vs. saw Mission of Burma "[mature] into a band whose sound was as distinctive as anyone of its generation. [...] It's daunting to imagine just how far Mission of Burma could have taken its music had Roger Miller's hearing problems not caused the band to break up the following year, but regardless of lost potential, very few American bands from the 1980s released an album as ambitious or as powerful as Vs."

Legacy
The album ranked at number 49 on Pitchfork's "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s" list. In 2016, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album number 25 on their list of the 40 Greatest Punk Albums.

Track listing
Note
 * The Matador Definitive Edition CD has the same bonus tracks, but they are in a different order: "Laugh the World Away", "Forget", Progress", "OK/No Way".

Personnel
Mission of Burma
 * Martin Swope – tape operation, percussion, cover and sleeve design
 * Clint Conley – bass guitar, vocals, percussion, cover and sleeve design
 * Roger Miller – guitar, vocals, piano, trumpet, percussion, cover and sleeve design
 * Peter Prescott – drums, vocals, percussion, cover and sleeve design

Technical
 * Richard W. Harte – production
 * John Kiehl – engineering
 * Holly Anderson – cover and sleeve design
 * Diane Bergamasco – sleeve photography