Wire (Wire album)

Wire
Studio album by Wire
Released	13 April 2015 (UK) 21 April 2015 (US)[1]
Recorded	2014 at Rockfield Studios outside Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK; overdubs added December 2014 Brighton Electric, Brighton, England, UK[1]
Genre	Post-punk, art punk, alternative rock
Length	44:01
Label	Pink Flag
Producer	Wire
Wire chronology
Change Becomes Us (2013) Wire (2015) Nocturnal Koreans (2016)

Wire is the self-titled fourteenth studio album by British post-punk band Wire. It was released on 13 April 2015.^[1]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	75/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Pitchfork	7.0/10[4]
The Guardian	[5]
The A.V. Club	B+[6]
Paste Magazine	8.2/10[7]
Consequence of Sound	B-[8]
PopMatters	7.0/10[9]

Background

The material on the album is a combination of songs which were written and performed live on tour preceding the recording and material written by Colin Newman just prior to entering the studio.^[1] The band chose eleven songs out of nineteen they’d been preparing, and Newman has stated that the band will issue the remaining material in “… a second release, probably early next year.”^[10] He later confirmed that this material would be released in April 2016 as Read & Burn 04.^[11]

According to the band’s official webpage for the release, Wire is the first time that guitarist Matthew Simms, who joined in 2012, was heavily involved in the creation of album material.^[1] Colin Newman said of Simms: "This is the first album where Matt's been involved in the whole process. It would be overstating to say that we're in a Renaissance, but we are definitely getting somewhere, and I think that Matt is very much part of that."^[12]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Wire. 

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Blogging"		3:46
2.	"Shifting"		3:17
3.	"Burning Bridges"		3:17
4.	"In Manchester"		2:41
5.	"High"		1:52
6.	"Sleep-Walking"		7:30
7.	"Joust & Jostle"		2:12
8.	"Swallow"		4:17
9.	"Split Your Ends"		3:30
10.	"Octopus"		3:16
11.	"Harpooned"		8:23

Personnel

Wire

• Colin Newman – voice, electric guitar, baritone electric guitar [1, 7, 8, 11], acoustic guitar [1, 2, 8], keyboards, mandola [6]
• Graham Lewis – bass guitar, high bass guitar [3], backing vocals [1, 4, 9, 10], keyboards [6], bass fx [6], vox pop [6]
• Robert Grey – drum kit, water tank [6]
• Matt Simms – electric guitar, 12-string electric guitar [2, 3, 9], lap steel guitar [3, 6], keyboards [1, 2, 4, 6], modular synth [4—6, 8—10], fx [11], loops [8]

Collaborators

• Jon Wozencroft – art direction, photography
• Sean Douglas – engineer at Rockfield Studios
• Denis Blackham – mastering

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13]	92
UK Albums (OCC)[14]	71

References

1. "Official page for Wire at pinkflag.com". 13 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
2. http://www.metacritic.com/music/wire/wire
3. "‘’Wire’’ review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
4. Raggett, Ned (21 April 2015). "Wire - ‘’Wire’’". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
5. Mongredien, Phil ""A real pop sensibility at play" review". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
6. Zaleski, Annie "Post-punk legends Wire sound ferocious, rejuvenated on new album". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
7. Hamm, Robert: "Wire: Wire Review". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
8. Bray, Ryan: "Wire – Wire". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
9. Garratt, John: "Wire". PopMatters. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
10. Smith, Mat "Split Your Ends: Wire's Colin Newman Interviewed". Clash Music. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
11. Paltrowitz, Darren "Wire Promotes Their New Album With 2 New York City Gigs". Downtown Magazine NYC. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
12. Brodsky, Rachel "Q&A: Nobody Puts Wire in a Corner". Spin. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
13. "Ultratop.be – Wire – Wire" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
14. "Wire | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 15 April 2016.