Wire

Read & Burn 3 EP

[3/5]

Despite a combined age of something like 789, Wire are better than all of those dinosaur dust-farters on cash-grabbing reunion tours. What could be more punk than doing an about-face from the sophisticated menace of their previous disc (2003’s Send)? The third installment of the band’s well-regarded Read & Burn EP series replaces guitar drive with electronic textures and speed with midtempo downshifting. “23 Years Too Late” is lugubrious enough, with bassist Graham Lewis and singer/guitarist Colin Newman ruminating on the civilized world’s cultural shortcomings (“Visiting the museum of backward hats”). But the remaining three tracks seem positively benign in comparison, considering the band’s propensity to both confound and delight their fans. But don’t write Wire off, because unlike the creative trajectory of many of their peers, the quartet constantly remain in motion. (PINK FLAG) Jason Pettigrew