789 Wire - Chairs Missing(1978)

 789 Wire - Chairs Missing(1978)

Studio Album - Art Punk



About the Act:

Wire are an Art Punk band from London, England. Formed in 1976, they have had a respectable 18 studio albums, and a couple of brief hiatus periods. Their line-up has been remarkably stable for a band of that longevity. They have had critical success and are apparently influential, especially their first album Pink Flag. They haven't sold a lot of records.


About the Album:

This was their second album. Apparently it is less stark than their debut.


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

"Art Punk"? It sounds a bit like a contradiction in terms, given that art rock was pretentious in a way that punk despised. Does this mean it is punk with pretentions? Yes. Basically that's it. Take punk sounds, and add in quiet a few other things, including a modicum of sophistication. Just a little. It's not as raw as punk might be expected to be, and significant in a couple of aspects - synths, and restraint. The vocal delivery and guitar playing (not particularly over-driven) are the largest punk elements, oh and the lack of decent production. To be honest, this album could have been produced much better, but maybe this is deliberate.  The songs are short, and mixed-pace, some are actually quite slow and even verging on the shoegazing in their lack of energy. Others are more up-front and punk. Mostly the vocals are too low in the mix to hear properly, and there is a mixture of loud singing, soft crooning, and Cockney speaking in a punk way.

Most of it left me quite cold, too arty to have the energy of punk, but too lacking in finesse (or maybe skill) to actually be good in other ways. Some of it was better, I particularly like "I feel Mysterious Today" (mostly for the idea) and "I Am The Fly". Bits of it reminded me of Gary Numan in delivery, but he did it so much better. In general it left me feeling that punk should be punk and not compromise with attempts at the sophistication that punk rejects, but I have a sneaky suspicion that done well, the combination could be really good. This just isn't.

6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7tWxaE1as1wy12Yd1De41r

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM3L9wx86xMupngT7cN4hSp7AM9b6_qIO

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairs_Missing



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