Since their inception they’ve maintained areputation for creating music that stretches the rock form whilst simultaneously editingit down to its essence. With their gift for crafting songs that perfectly balanceexperimentation and accessibility, WIRE were recently hailed by the Quietus as “one ofthe most consistent British bands of all time”. Yet WIRE exhibit little inclination to lookback or trade on past glories, rather they remain resolutely focused on producing musicwhich is smart, vital and defiantly modern.Mind Hive is the group’s first newly recorded material since 2017’s stellar Silver/Lead.That album garnered rave reviews (“Some of the best tunes they’ve done” – The Guardian)and career best sales. Yet, if Silver/Lead set the bar pretty high, Mind Hive seems tohave no problem vaulting over it. Album opener Be Like Them is a super-angular composition, utilizing a recentlyrediscovered Wire lyric from 1977. Colin Newman and Matthew Simms’ guitars constantlymesh and diverge, whilst the rhythm section of Graham Lewis and Robert Grey ensurethe song prowls forward with an unstoppable menace. In contrast, lead cut Cactused is the first of Mind Hive’s pop moments. Newman’s vocalis wide eyed and wired, with Lewis’ smooth backing vocals thickening the plot. Simms’effects-heavy guitar work creates a bright web of noise, with the song’s stop/startmoments providing a series of precise energy bursts. Primed And Ready rides out on a tightly pulsing synth sequence punctuated by icyslivers of guitar. Grey drives whole sections of the song with hi-hat alone, but when hissnare cracks return, they push the song forwards with even greater intensity. This isWire at their most compressed yet propulsive.
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SUCHE