Wire announced that they are releasing a new self-titled album on April 21, 2015, via pinkflag. In addition to the new album, the band has announced a U.S. summer tour that will stop in a number of major cities including, Seattle, New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles.
Wire was put together in 1976, as punk music was in its infancy. Their approach of crafting songs with a concept served to set Wire apart from – not only their wide range of influences – but their peers and contemporaries, as well.
“I had this idea that I wanted to avoid things that had a particular kind of tradition,” Wire singer and guitarist Colin Newman said in a press release. “I thought the three-chord trick was too simplistic and that the one-chord trick would be better. Or the two chord trick where the second chord is definitely not the right chord.”
Graham Lewis, the band’s bass guitarist and vocalist, also pointed out another trait that has been a constant theme through the Wire’s music over the years.”People said we were mysterious, arch and dark. But the only way of doing that successfully, is by also having a sense of humor. You have to have that balance. With Wire there’s a peculiarity, a contrariness and that can be funny,” he said in a press release.
This approach kept the band’s sound and songwriting from becoming cliché.
Wire’s most recent release – prior to the announcement of this new 2015 album – had been 2013’s “Change Becomes Us”. “Change Becomes Us” found the band reworking unreleased music that was initially written during the 1980s, but abandoned after a temporary breakup during the same decade.
In 2012, Wire welcomed It Hugs Back guitarist Matthew Simms into the fold, and the band’s self-titled release marks the first time he has been involved in Wire’s creative process from the ground up. “With Matt there was a really new dynamic that had appeared in the group’s sound and that was something we wanted to capture, utilise and be creative with,” guitarist/vocalist Lewis said in a press release.
And, singer/guitarist Colin Newman recalled how the band had incredible chemistry when they recorded a song called, “Sleepwalking”, that’s on the new album.
“I don’t think we even ran all the way through it before we recorded it.” Newman said in a press release. “Wire do this thing so well and there’s instant atmosphere. There’s my rhythm guitar, Matt playing lap steel, Graham (Lewis) playing bass with effects – there’s as much effects as bass – and Rob’s tolling drumming. It was already almost sustainable for six minutes with just that.”
Lewis writes many of Wire’s songs, and the band usually tests them out on tour, before settling into record them in a studio. On the self-titled “Wire”, the band’s lyrics range from encompassing love songs to cryptic narratives and coded messages. And, musically, this new project is “full of swooning pop melodies with a 60’s tinge and an irresistible, near motorik rhythmic momentum,” according to a press release. However, by the time listeners reach the final track on the album, “Harpooned,” the sun-lit 60’s pop melodies have given way to the shadows, again. “Harpooned”, according to a press release, is “eight churning minutes of the group’s darkest, most abrasive music to date.” It has become a crowd favorite since the band began road-testing the song on tour in 2013.
If you’re wondering what this dissent from sunlight into darkness will sound like, look no further. You can preview a little bit of the band’s new album. Wire released the seventh track, “Jouste & Jostle”, via SoundCloud. Check it out, below.
The band has plans to launch the album by their fourth night at the Lexington in London, England, as a part of Wire’s DRILL series. The album launch will be followed by U.K. and U.S. tours; so, be sure to take a look at the album’s tracklisting and all of the concert details, below.
“Wire” (2015) Tracklisting
01. Blogging
02. Shifting
03. Burning Bridges
04. In Manchester
05. High
06. Sleep-Walking
07. Joust & Jostle
08. Swallow
09. Split Your Ends
10. Octopus
11. Harpooned
Wire – 2015 U.K. Spring Tour
April 12-13: BRIGHTON – Prince Albert
April 14-18: LONDON – DRILL: LEXINGTON (album launch)
April 20: SOUTHAMPTON – Engine Rooms
April 21: RAMSGATE – Music Hall
April 22: NOTTINGHAM – Rescue Rooms
April 23: LIVERPOOL – Kazimer
April 24: HEBDEN BRIDGE – Trades Club
April 26: ABERDEEN – Lemon Tree
April 27: GLASGOW – King Tuts
April 28: LEEDS – Brudenell Social Club
April 29: MANCHESTER – Club Academy
April 30: BRISTOL – Fleece
Wire – 2015 U.S. Summer Tour
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May 27: SEATTLE, WA – Nuemos
May 29: SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Slim’s
May 30: LOS ANGELES, CA – The Echoplex
June 02: CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Sinclair
June 03: BROOKLYN, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
June 04: NEW YORK, NY – Bowery Ballroom
June 05: PHILADELPHIA, PA – Union Transfer
June 06: WASHINGTON, DC – Black Cat
June 08: CLEVELAND, OH – Beachland Ballroom
June 09: DETROIT, MI – Majestic Theatre
June 10: LOUISVILLE, KY – Headliners
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