(no subject)

[pyani]

Before talking about Wire - Send -- which, I guess, was their comeback album -- I think I should mention something: I have never heard their "classic" "Pink Flag". I know, kill me now, take away all my cred, etc. But that's just the way it worked out. In 1993 or 94 I guess I was, for some reason, a subscriber (or freebie sub? or maybe I bought it? or something?) to CMJ New Music Journal. As cheesy as the compilation CDs were that they sent out every month, they did introduce me to a lot of interesting stuff, and not just the high-gloss alt-rock they were generally being paid to push. Anyway, I remember in one of the issues of the mag, there was a column about some band called Wire, and CMJ basically named then one of the punkest bands that ever punked around. Or something. All I was able to find at the local used music store (I think it was still called Mad City Music, so that tells you how long ago it was!) was a late-80s LP called "The Ideal Copy". I liked the kind of electronic post-punk that I was hearing, even if I had no context to put it in. I don't think CMJ was referring to that record when they were pushing Wire, but that was my introduction. Nearly a decade later, "Send" was getting decent reviews everywhere, so I picked it up. It's a lot heavier than I remember "The Ideal Copy" being, but that's pretty good: aggressive post-punk with electronic elements. Done by oldschool masters. An excellent record, very much worth downloading.

As always, if you decide to download the record from the link above, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.