Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

Wire / Red Barked Tree

"Red Barked Tree" may well be Wire's 12th studio album, but with a CV shot full of employment gaps this is really only album No.2 for the slimed down Wire reinvigoration. Album No.1, "Object 47" in 2008 (in case you didn't know) was a long and large seamless outburst of emotion; single paced, unremitting, unwavering - an strong hard indelible black line. "Red Barked Tree" doesn't follow the same flow. Instead deviation, pause, progression, dark delving explorations and massive mood swings are the order of the day. The line taken this time round is as wavy as a seismographic needle recording a pulsing TEN on the Richter scale. OK so there are three similarities, the album opens as did "Object 47" with the most immediate track first, this time "Please Take". Also the bass of Graham Lewis is back torturing the speakers with riffs of unfathomable depth; and oh yeah, once again there is no possibility whatsoever of there being a GUITAR SOLO! But aside from that "Red Barked Tree" fluctuates, majestically.

Beyond the immediacy of the opener and the massively vitriolic "Now Was" comes the jingly jangly ambience of "Adapt" - almost Cocteau Twin like - with Harold Budd-esque piano plinking accompaniment for conformation - except lyrically this is far from ethereal stuff. The waters of despair are rising "Beware the timely statement leak...The trigger is the price of meat. Barricade your first floor doors. Evacuate your sick and poor". More social/political forebodings follow, but this time wrapped in a two minute thrash/rant "Two Minutes". Done, Wire fluctuates into "Clay", a Young Knives Blur-esque pop ditty.

And so "Red Barked Tree" goes, zig zagging from melody to chant all the way to the penultimate "Down To This", which has more P Gabriel & P Floyd about it than P punk; and finally to the humanist spiritual "Red Barked Tree" "A privileged few. A charmed elite. Can slash and burn as they retreat. The search is on, in southern seas. To find the healing, red barked trees"

With all the diversions and fluctuations "RBT" could have ended up sounding like an easily ipodable collection of disparate songs rather than a proper album. But this is not the case. Newman's vocal delivery and message somehow glues everything together - an almost constant thread - but miss a mood swing and you miss the point - "Red Barked Tree" is a whole, from outset to conclusion to resolution; a bitter sour compelling listen.

Whilst most of the musical survivors of the late seventies are either degrading or simply treading water, Wire continue to expand - the journey continues - long may it last! PINK FLAG

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And finally a word about the "Strays" EP. Opening with the wonderfully crafted progression "Boiling Boy" a melodic, hypnotic masterpiece (probably my favourite track of the 15) and closing with "Underwater Experiences" and all sirens blaring - Strays, maybe? Cast offs, I think not.

PS: This REVIEW was written after listening to RBT on mp3 and flac. My opinions may be upgraded once the vinyl arrives.

PPS Review writ and I didn't mention PINK FLAG once - phew.

Stop press: Once I've seen both bands play their new material live, we'll tell you who reigns supreme, stay tuned for GANG of FOUR versus WIRE coming soon(ish)!