Consonant

by Mark DemingAfter the breakup of Mission of Burma in 1983, Clint Conley had for the most part retired from music; outside of producing Yo La Tengo's debut album, practically nothing musical was heard from him as he devoted himself to his new career as a producer for a local Boston television station. In 2001, however, Conley and his old Burma bandmates begin kicking around the idea of playing a few reunion shows and at the same time, Conley began writing new songs with longtime friend Holly Anderson contributing to the lyrics. As his backlog of new songs grew, Conley decided to form a band to perform his new material and Consonant marked Conley's return to the music scene. Conley recruited a lineup of veterans of some of Boston's best-known bands, including Chris Brokaw (formerly of Come and Codeine) on guitar, Matt Kadane (ex-Silkworm and Bedhead) on drums, and Winston Braman (from Fuzzy and the Count-Me-Outs) on bass; Conley, who'd played bass with Mission of Burma, switched to guitar for Consonant. Not long before Mission of Burma launched their Inexplicable tour, Consonant recorded their self-titled debut album, which was released in the spring of 2002. A year later, Love and Affliction showcased a much heavier side to Conley's work.