AllMovie

Formed in 1980, Mission of Burma were a rock band from Boston who thrived on doing this differently than their peers. While the band's arty melodic textures were reminiscent of groups like Pere Ubu and Wire, they played with a tremendous volume and ferocity, creating music that was both brainy and physical. They also augmented the standard guitar/bass/drums lineup with tape loops manipulated by the group's soundman and official fourth member, Martin Swope, creating dense clouds of sound whose origin was often unknown to the audience. But in 1983, as the band was beginning to receive nationwide recognition, guitarist and principal songwriter Roger Miller was diagnosed with tinnitus, a chronic ringing in the ears brought on by the band's stage volume; Miller announced he was leaving the group and Mission of Burma disbanded. Miller went on to perform experimental music and silent film scores with the Alloy Orchestra, drummer Peter Prescott played with the Volcano Suns and Kustomized, and Clint Conley became a producer at a Boston TV station. Then in 2002, the seemingly impossible happened -- Miller, Conley and Prescott decided to play a pair of reunion shows in New York and Boston after refusing many similar offers since their breakup. Filmmakers and Mission of Burma fans David Kleiler Jr. and Jeff Iwanicki set out to capture the group's "inexplicable" reunion on videotape, and Not A Photograph: The Mission of Burma Story examines the band's original incarnation as well as the behind-the-scenes story of their triumphant return.