Happy returns (continued)

ONoffON, which was produced by the group in league with Ace of Hearts boss Rick Harte and engineered by Weston, begins with a blast that’ll rivet old or new fans of Burma’s kaleidoscopic take on arty punk rock — an approach that’s as fresh-sounding and proudly idiosyncratic as it was two decades ago. "The Set Up" comes roaring on, surrounding its hooky pop lyrics about heartache with a spiky metallic sheath of guitar. It’s distinctly a Miller tune, built on the angular guitar style of "Max Ernst," the number that along with Conley’s "Academy Fight Song" made up the group’s debut single in 1980. Then there’s "Hunt Again," a Conley number rippling with his trademark melodicism and bouncing, propulsive chords. And as fans who’ve heard him at the comeback shows or with his own group Consonant — which started at roughly the same time Mission of Burma returned to service — know, he’s singing more flexibly and with better tone than 20 years ago. The third song, "The Enthusiast," with its soft cymbal hits giving way to growling guitar and howling singing, is a typically dark and madcap Prescott number. It’s also a gem, with its "I’m high as a kite on a windless night" refrain and a subtle swipe at Metallica’s "Enter Sandman" in its vocal melody.

So ONoffON goes, with the members trading songs throughout. They ricochet from the Beatles-like "What We Really Were," with genuine three-part harmonies, to the poetic "Max Ernst’s Blood," the gritty "Dirt," and "Playland." That last track opens with a six-string squall from Miller that’s a reminder of one of Burma’s principal joys: the small bursts of improvisation that are built into their most adventurous tunes. Sure, Mission of Burma’s three-man core have all passed 45, but they can still play their asses off.

"As songwriters," says Conley, analyzing Burma’s compositional make-up, "Roger is very musicianly. He brings in things that can be very challenging to learn. Sometimes it’s almost impossible to find bass notes for the chords he’s using."

"Or rhythms," Prescott chimes in.

"His songs need to evolve in your head until you can understand them," Conley continues. "I consider him the master songwriter. Peter is more the brutalist. He comes in and borrows my bass to shows us a song and plays all these intense 16th notes."

"I’ve been told that even in the bands where I was playing guitar," Prescott says, referring to his post-Burma outfits Kustomized and the Peer Group, "I was playing drums." He laughs.

"Your songs tend to be more fully evolved," Prescott says. "Then when we all come together, we all bring our own thing to it and the songs grown in new directions."

The same kind of collective creativity transpires live, where the band members try to develop new variations on the parts they play in songs, hoping to take one another to untested ground. And of course, the new songs keep coming too. When Mission of Burma play Avalon on May 22, they’ll be unveiling numbers more recent than the 16 on ONoffON. All of which aren’t so new. It’s worth noting that ONoffON’s sound bomb "Playland" was on the demos and outtake collection Forget (Taang!), a relatively obscure release by what until recently has been a relatively obscure band. Although Burma’s hardcore fans might disagree.

"I think for me, the most amazing experience was when we played Irving Plaza in New York for the first time, in 2002," says Miller. "We did ‘Playland.’ I’d heard a tape of a live show we’d played at MIT in ’82, and when the song was over, there was no applause at all. This time, I could see like 30 people out in the audience singing along. That night, when I got back to my hotel room, all this stuff welled up in me that I hadn’t known was buried. I felt a wave of relief and a lot of tension was gone. It was very emotional, really amazing. I think it also made us want to play better."

Now, having enjoyed some long-delayed affirmation of their work, Mission of Burma are heading into ONoffON’s release and tour with a modest goal. "It would be awful to be perceived as middle-aged rockers out to achieve some kind of glory," says Conley. "And I don’t think anybody can write us off as shadows of our former selves, because we’re writing good songs and playing really hard."

"Yeah," says Prescott. "What we’re going to do is tour in short bursts. We want to do right by Matador, which is a great label for us to be on, so we’ll play dates. But Clint has Consonant and his job and family. Roger has the Binary System and Alloy Orchestra and needs to be careful about prolonged exposure to loud music. And I’ve already been bitchin’ about traveling."

"What I hope happens is that people will experience the vitality and sheer joy we’re feeling when they come to hear Mission of Burma," says Conley. "That’s why we’re doing this: for the sheer joy of playing this music together."

Mission of Burma play Avalon, 15 Lansdowne Street in Boston, on Saturday May 22; call (617) 228-6000.