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On the vintage foundation of simple, minimal patterns repeated to often-hypnotic effect, Wire builds a beefed-up, contemporary wall of sound.
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Read & Burn is still Wire, and without even retreading the past.
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UncutAn unusually exciting attempt to revitalise past glories. [Oct 2002, p.111]
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MojoIt's hard to imagine a more perfectly realised Wire artefact. [Sep 2002, p.95]
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Q MagazineAfter just six songs and 17 minutes, the future is sounding admirably open-ended. [Oct 2002, p.118]
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In this slim volume of three-chord thrashing there's proof that while punk may reside in middle age, in some quarters its vital signs have never shown more strongly.
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Entertainment WeeklyIt's a still-thrilling combo, even if these new songs lack the tuneful pop smarts that made Pink Flag tracks like "Field Day for the Sundays" classics. [Review of EPs 01 and 02, 21 Oct 2002]
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The Wire25 years down the line, Wire are still pulling off coups as daring and deadly as This Heat's debut. [#224, p.73]
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BlenderGlorious, distorted drill-press guitar riffs. [#13, p.103]
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Every song is a savage burst of raw anger, taking Pink Flags sarcastic punk and updating it for the new millennium with cleaner production and even more minimalist arrangements.
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This short EP clearly isn't up to the muster of classic 70s Wire.
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It's a dense, matte-black monoblock of furious sonic energy -- ultra-compressed riffs, barely controlled bursts of feedback, and lyrics more urgent and angry than anything Wire have done in the last twenty-odd years.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 6
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Mixed: 1 out of 6
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Negative: 1 out of 6
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ChemicalScumApr 28, 2005
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AlanK.Aug 16, 2002
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PaulK.Aug 8, 2002Wire's coldly distainful wit has allowed them to carry their bite into the '00s. These guys will forever kick anyone's ass.