Object 47

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Stick with it..., 2008-11-30
On first listen, the lyrics seemed awkward and the music dull. On the second listen, not much changed. I almost gave up. Then, on listen who knows how many, it suddenly made sense to me. I was hoping for Send part two, or even Read Burn part four, but instead they gave us a whole new direction that leans heavier on their pop side than Send did.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

WIRE: Still important after all these years..., 2008-10-30
...and they're still unique and innovative. Simply put, they are the best of their genre (not that WIRE can be labeled). I got to see them live in Boston a few weeks ago. They were, of course, incredible. Full of energy and loud, very loud. Buy this album, and if you're not familiar with their work, buy Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, The Scottish Play (a live recording which has a lot of songs from Send, but, in my opinion, sounds better), and the Read and Burn EPs (especially Read and Burn 03).

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Best Wire Release in 20 Years, 2008-10-13
I've been listening to them during the aforementioned 20-year interval, and have enjoyed most of what they've put out. I've listened to all the records again during the past week, while getting jazzed up to see them live, and I'm convinced that this is the best one since "A Bell Is A Cup Until It Is Struck". The band has rediscovered the joy of songwriting, as opposed to artsy drone, and the better half of this (admittedly short) album is classic Wire. br / br /It took me a few listens to "154" before I realized it was a masterful set of poetic constructions that is to Eno's "Another Green World" as interpersonal relationships are to landscape portraits. br / br /It took me a number of listens to "A Bell Is A Cup" until I started to see it as a perfectly wonderful brew of various styles of pop and rock, perfectly recorded. br / br /After a few listens to this, I realize that it's a fun, exciting record that makes me hope very much that Newman and Lewis keep working together for a while and writing quality songs like these. br / br /

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

31 years and still original. , 2008-09-28
If wire were a stealth plane, it would be flying 2 feet off the ground. Wire is under the radar. Arguably the most under-rated band, certainly the most so in the art-pop-punk genre or whatever they really are. br / br /true to form about half the songs are really catching, lacks the primal punk energy of the Agfers of Kodack, reminds one more of an evolved version of chairs missing. Diminished chords, truly abstruse lyrics. br / br /Think of the most beautiful, yet edgy modern art you have seen. This is what it would sound like to a synesthesiac. Wire has been doing this for 3 decades, and they still make original music and lyrics. if you can appreciate this, there is a plethora of wire for you to dig back into, and what an archeological find you will hear! br / br /

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Short but sweet, 2008-08-22
I've read that Wire influenced not only various early-80s punk bands (with their first two records), but also late-80s electronic rockers (Depeche Mode* etc.) with albums such as A Bell Is A Cup. Both of those aspects of Wire's history are present on Object 47, a short (35 mins.) but relatively strong collection of nine new tunes. This band line-up includes both Colin Newman and Graham Lewis but not Bruce Gilbert. Ob47 is a highly listenable and enjoyable set that goes by very quickly. The tracks feature melodic, dual-tracked lead vocals that sound vaguely Eno-esque in their slightly blurred way, plus some forceful bass lines and very interesting song arrangements. One song pretty much goes right into the next, giving the disc a seamless feel that made me want to hear it all over again after the first time thru. (So I did.) My favorite cuts are "One Of Us," "Four Long Years*," and "Are You Ready?" but all nine songs are good. [*Listen for the Depeche Mode flavor of this tune. Actually, it's a better DM sound than much of Dave Gahan's solo work!]