Wire

Object 47

[4/5]

A half-decade into their post-millennial rejuvenation-and absent founding guitarist Bruce Gilbert for the foreseeable future-seminal post-punk standard-bearers Wire confound expectation yet again by stepping away from the acerbic sand-in-the-Vaseline eardrum buzz of 2003’s Send (to say nothing of eschewing the simple pleasures of a proper title). Instead, Object 47 places the muscular avant-pop partnership of Colin Newman and Graham Lewis center stage, with the propulsive leadoff anthem "One Of Us" sketching acrimony and regret as tuneful dance-floor art. The serrated serenades of Object 47 offer all the compact joys of past Wire classics like 154 and Chairs Missing, but amplified and digitized for the Internet age. By the time the one-two blast of "Are You Ready?" and "All Fours" signals the end, one hopes that Object 48 isn’t too far away. (PINK FLAG) Erick Haight