Murder in a Foreign Place - Razorcake Review

In a fair and just world, “M.I.A.” would adorn jackets, shirts, back patches, pillowcases, and condiment bottles, the band would be spoken with the same reverence that dozens of others (many of them lesser, frankly) enjoy and this, their first solo full-length (after the Last Rights split LP with Genocide), would be a staple of any top ten list associated with the word “punk.” Not only does it sport two of the greatest punk tunes Southern California ever produced (the swing-drenched title track and the anthemic “Boredom Is the Reason”), it’s an almost perfect record with ten rippers that are melodic, whip smart, and remain frustratingly topical (even this unabashed fan will admit the closer, “There Is No Love” is 1:13-worth of filler). Throughout, they thrash away with the best of them then switch gears on a dime to slower speeds, odder tempos, and different ideas, all of it delivered with a level of precision that still astonishes some forty years hence. Shit, having this again available as-is on vinyl would’ve been enough, but they’ve seen fit to include eight more extra tracks culled from demos they made around the same time; a twenty-four-page booklet with photos, lyrics, a tour diary, reproductions of zine interviews, and reminiscences by friends and folk associated with the creation of the record; and a reproduction of the original insert. Those who manage to get their hands on a copy of the version with the hand-screened cover will find themselves with the LP on colored vinyl plus a bonus 7” single with tracks from long out of print compilations (“Just a Dream,” from Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Vol. 2, and “Turning into What You Hate,” from the Half Skull 7” comp) to boot. Fair and just this world decidedly is not, but here’s hoping this, along with recent reissues of the rest of their oeuvre, affords M.I.A. some long overdue acclaim. –Jimmy Alvarado (Alternative Tentacles)