I began listening to Wire in October 2022. Although I considered continuing on with their albums, I decided against it because their sharp transition into an art band and their lackluster reviews thereafter.
Pink Flag (1977): A+
Chairs Missing (1978): A
154 (1979): B
Pink Flag (1977):
The Ramones led the charge to take the fat out of rock music by mostly cutting out verses; Wire lead the charge to take the fat out of punk music by cutting out everything save raw playing and emotion. The Ramones (almost accidently) led their charge because playing it simple was all their skill set allowed; Wire are very talented techniqually--despite their raw approach, they cover much more musical ground than the most punk bands combined--and thus, their strict adherence to the punk archetype is done out of the utmost reverence for the genre's musical ideals. Packing in an astounding 21 songs into a brief 35 minute album, Wire only repeat what they want to emphasize and the songs cut to credits once they get their point across. Like the music, the lyrics are similarly influenced by Imagist ideals and are rife with picturesque lines like "I have a fleeting love/scorching when it lands." Funny enough, however, they get their point across perfectly without the lyrics: like most punks, you can hardly understand them anyway. A+
Chairs Missing (1978):
Like all great artists but perhaps more swiftly than most, Wire are moving on. Generally, they still keep it brief--only three songs go past four minutes and five are under two minutes--but here they further indulge in their artsy side. To create more atmosphere, they add synthesizers and keyboards. To balance out their hardcore rockers, they slow down the tempo and Newman delivers some pretty vocals. Like Television's Adventure, it's sometimes difficult to accept the retreat after such an exhilarating and innovative start but it's clear that the band has just as much conviction now as they ever did. A
154 (1979):
Wire has had artsy tendencies from the beginning but they're starting to drown in them on their third album. Usually, I can swallow such excursions from bands that have proven themselves as much as Wire has but with the introduction of Graham Lewis as an additional lead vocalist and another complete metamorphosis in sound, I have a difficult time even remembering this is a band with whom I'm well acquainted. B
