Consonant
"Consonant"
(Fenway)

The first of what will be a long line of highly anticipated multimedia
products from the Mission of Burma camp has arrived, and boy does it rock.
Until the "Inexplicable" DVD and new Mission of Burma record hit store
shelves later this year, we have bassist Clint Conley's "Consonant" to hold
us over. This indie "supergroup". consisting of Conley, Bedhead's Matt
Kadane, Winston Braman (Fuzzy) and Chris Brokaw (Come), drives and slashes
its way through 13 songs that rock with Burma's energy yet in a more
straightforard manner than Conley's legendary 80s post-punk unit.

In Burma, Conley was responsible for the more anthemic numbers, and the
opener "Blissful" proves his sense of melody and catchiness has not left
him. He flirts with distorted vocals on other tracks, recalling Robert
Pollard's lo-fi experiments with Guided By Voices. Poet Holly Anderson
helps collaborate with Conley on most of the tracks here, resulting in the
most deliberate and direct lyrics to ever inflitrate Conley's work. Most of
the lyrics are art-y takes on love, reinforced by vocal harmonies and
forceful guitar leads. Conley paints a magnificent picture, using his
Mission of Burma background as a basis for exploring the lighter, more
delicate side of rock. Who better to take along this journey than Chris
Brokaw and Matt Kadane, members of two of the most precious rock bands ever
to exist.

"Consonant" is a great example of what a post-Burma world sounds like,
reminding us of the influence of the great band and how they helped the
genre of rock music to progress. One of the best of 2002 for sure.

--Karthik