Song Listing
| | In the 5 years since the release of their last album Send (in May 2003) Wire have expounded, reviewed, contracted, lain dormant, recovered, expanded and through all that have shed an old skin and grown a new one. Wire is not the same as it was before but then Wire is never the same as it was before. Object 47 (the 47th object in Wire's discography) is nonetheless only Wire's 11th studio album. It is the 2nd product of an arc of work began in 2006 which has so far thrown up the rather well received EP Read and Burn 03 (from which no tracks appear) and stands as a confident statement of where Wire are in 2008. As ever looking forward! While retaining Wire's idiosyncratic mix of an avant-garde mindset with classic pop timing this album boasts "tunes with zoom" a unique formula that somehow manages to sound wholly Wire (in a classic sense) and wholly contemporary. Track Listing
1. One of Us
2. Circumspect
3. Mekon Headman
4. Perspex Icon
5. Four Long Years
6. Hard Currency
7. Patient Flees
8. Are You Ready?
9. All Fours
"The serrated serenades of Object 47 offer all the compact joys of past Wire classics...but amplified and digitalized for the internet age." Alternative Press
"In the unlikely event that anyone doubted it, Object 47 is proof that Wire's edge remains as sharp as ever." David Coleman, No Ripcord
"Pleasingly this is Wire's best new music since their glory days in the late '70s." Garry Mulholland, Q
"Is there a sub-genre called 'intelligent, adventurous, 21st century rock n roll'? That's what I call Wire." Nick Reynolds, BBC
"...a smartly sardonic piece of work on par with Wire's late-'70s heyday." Sean O'Neal, The Onion A.V. Club
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | On 2008's OBJECT 47, Wire's second full-length studio album since its 21st-century reactivation, the lauded British post-punk act leaves behind both the intense rush of SEND ('03) and the man largely responsible for it, guitarist Bruce Gilbert. Continuing confidently as a trio, Wire remains as artful as ever while incorporating more melodic, pop-savvy elements into the fold, often recalling 1988's A BELL IS A CUP UNTIL IT'S STRUCK in its quirky tunefulness. Highlights include the soaring "One of Us," the propulsive "Perspex Icon," and the slinky, trip-hop-tinged "Four Long Years," all of which showcase singer/guitarist Colin Newman's charmingly cerebral persona. For lapsed fans of vintage Wire, this is an ideal point to revisit the band. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 07/15/2008 | | Original Release Date : 2008 | | Catalog ID : 17 | | Label : Pink Flag | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : DDD | | UPC : 00655035004723 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Spin (p.112)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "'All Fours' revs up the incendiary roar these fifty-somethings perfected on the recent READ & BURN EP series. Scuffed-up and brainy, OBJECT 47 finds Wire still beguiling after all these years."Alternative Press (p.149)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "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." Q (Magazine)
(p.145)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he youthful energy, wit and vigour that buoys the likes of 'One Of Us' and 'All Fours' ads up to far more than simple new wave nostalgia." Blender (Magazine)
(p.83)
- 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hey've looped back to their late-'80s mode: dry, mechanical grooves topped with cooling-lava noise....Their densely layered riffs reward wall-shaking volumes." PopMatters 9 of 10
Wire is a great band who have often been daunting to approach, so the really dazzling thing about Object 47 is just how approachable and digestible it is. It may not be the best album of their career (it's hard to tell, this early on), but barring maybe Chairs Missing it's the one I'd hand to someone curious about the band, and it's a staggering achievement given that, for example, by this point in their career the Rolling Stones were making Voodoo Lounge. Wire instead have an album that accessible but still richly rewarding to fans. You'll be singing along to the soaring chorus of "Perspex Icon" after the first listen, and even maliciously chanting nouns with "Patient Flees". Opener "One of Us" carries on a proud tradition of fairly hilarious bitchiness on the band's part, marrying a bouncy sing-song chorus to Newman's vow "One of us will live to rue the day we met each other", and "Circumspect" follows it up by badgering the listener until they're not sure of anything that just happened. "Can you tell me what you saw? Can you tell me what you thought you heard?", Newman drawls, and while I guess there's some political/every day resonance to that it's mostly just the kind of sinister fun you listen to Wire for. - Ian Mathers
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