The Fat Angel Sings

If Wire got a shilling for every time a post-punk band cited them as their main influence, they’d move up a social class in England. But actually, the word “punk”—and probably even the word “post”—no longer really applies to a quartet that has established itself in recent years as a somewhat ear-friendly art rock band. Compared with their seminal 1977 album Pink Flag Wire’s latest album, “Silver/Lead”, makes it sound like their debut was playing at 45 RPM. No doubt, the Colin Newman–led band is not the same as it used to be fifteen albums ago. And that’s exactly the point.

Devotees have savored the band’s unpredictable evolution to this point, but those who only own the band’s first three records may be disappointed by Silver/Lead. Like the punchy and taut Pink Flag, the current iteration of Wire is nimble, but the band relishes reverberating guitars and Zen-like soundscapes; this latest effort is even chiller than 2015’s Wire and 2016’s Nocturnal Koreans. Detractors might disparage the new record as a series of whimpers let out by old fogies, but patient listeners who respect the modern-day Wire as its own creature will discover beauty in many of Silver/Lead’s ten tracks, like when Newman pleads, “Ooh, darling / I want you to stay / Forever and a day,” over a bed of light-as-a-feather instrumentation (on “Forever & a Day”).

Are you the same person you were at age twenty-two (Newman’s age when he formed Wire)? If so, you’ve probably stopped exploring new music—and probably share little in common with Wire’s vision.

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First track made public from Wire’s 2017 album “Silver / Lead” to be released 31st March 2017.

English post-punk greats Wire are still going strong after 40 years together. They’re already following up 2016’s Nocturnal Koreans with their soon-to-be-released 15th studio album Silver/Lead. Today we’re playing the track “Diamonds In Cups,” the second single from the new album following last month’s upbeat “Short Elevated Period” This one features some exceptional guitar work that takes you up and down on a blissful, bouncing ride. With much of their recent material, Wire continues to keep true to themselves in a way that makes old fans stick around, while still freshening up their sound enough to engage new generations with each new decade of music. Listen to “Diamonds In Cups” below.

The Silver/Lead release falls a day before the anniversary of the band’s first gig together at the Roxy in London in 1977. To commemorate, Wire will be headlining the Los Angeles edition of Drill Festival, the band’s small, curated show series. Pink Flag, Wire’s seminal debut album, turns 40 years old in December. But somehow, the post-punk pioneers are still around, and even more miraculously, they still sound absolutely vital. They cranked out a album last year and an album the year before that, and their streak is continuing this year with the newly announced LP Silver/Lead. It’ll be out 31st March , on the 40th anniversary of their debut performance, and they’ve just shared lead single “Short Elevated Period,” a fuzzy blast of surprisingly melodic guitar-pop

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