The Burden of Mules

The Burden of Mules is the debut studio album by English post-punk band The Wolfgang Press. It was released on 1 August 1983, through record label 4AD.

Critical reception
AllMusic's review was negative, calling the album "impenetrable" and some tracks "so morose and vehement as to verge on self-parody". Trouser Press called it "dark and cacophonous; an angry, intense slab of post-punk gloom that is best left to its own (de)vices."

Ernest Simpson of Treble was more positive, stating, "As the times changed, so did their [Wolfgang Press'] sound, but The Burden of Mules still stands as not only the beginnings of a great band, but as a definition of a specific time and place in music history. They trod the dark side of post-punk with a gloom and doom shared by many of their contemporaries, but it is their penchant for theatrics that makes this album stand out."

Personnel

 * The Wolfgang Press


 * Andrew Gray – guitar (tracks A1, A4 and B2), percussion (tracks A1 and B2) , drums (tracks A3 and B1) , sleeve photography
 * David Steiner – drums (track B1)
 * Michael Allen – drums (tracks A1 and B1), percussion (tracks A1, A2, A4–A6 and B2) , bass guitar (tracks A2–A6, B2 and B3) , vocals (tracks A2–A5 and B1–B3) , synthesizer (tracks A2 and A5) , piano (tracks A6, B2 and B3) , organ (track A6) , drum loops (track B2) , cymbal and saxophone (track B3) , production
 * Mark Cox – synthesizer (tracks A2 and A4–B3), percussion (tracks A1, A2, A4–A6) , clarinet (tracks A2, A5 and B3) , "noises" (tracks A3, B1 and B2) , pixiephone and chimes (tracks A2 and A4) , piano (tracks A2 and A5) , organ (tracks A1 and B1) , "scratches" and whistling (track A6) , bass guitar (track A3) , production
 * Richard Thomas – drums (tracks A2, A4–A6 and B3), flute and piano (track B3)


 * Technical


 * John Madden – engineering, production