Read & Burn 01 [EP]
by Wire
  • Record Label: Pinkflag
  • Release Date: Jun 25, 2002
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. AllMusic
    80
    On the vintage foundation of simple, minimal patterns repeated to often-hypnotic effect, Wire builds a beefed-up, contemporary wall of sound.
  2. Blender
    80
    Glorious, distorted drill-press guitar riffs. [#13, p.103]
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  3. Delusions of Adequacy
    70
    This short EP clearly isn't up to the muster of classic 70s Wire.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    It'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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  6. Mojo
    80
    It's hard to imagine a more perfectly realised Wire artefact. [Sep 2002, p.95]
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  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    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.
  8. Pitchfork
    80
    Read & Burn is still Wire, and without even retreading the past.
  9. Q Magazine
    60
    After just six songs and 17 minutes, the future is sounding admirably open-ended. [Oct 2002, p.118]
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  10. Splendid
    80
    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.
  11. Stylus Magazine
    75
    Every song is a savage burst of raw anger, taking Pink Flag’s sarcastic punk and updating it for the new millennium with cleaner production and even more minimalist arrangements.
  12. The Wire
    80
    25 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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  13. Uncut
    60
    An unusually exciting attempt to revitalise past glories. [Oct 2002, p.111]
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Awards & Rankings

63
#63 Best Album of 2002

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. ChemicalScum
    Apr 28, 2005
    10
    I have been bored lately nothing seemed to quite set me on fire untill I heard Read and Burn 01. Warning his music is dangerous to drive on - I have been bored lately nothing seemed to quite set me on fire untill I heard Read and Burn 01. Warning his music is dangerous to drive on - you will speed and try to carve up every other vehicle on the road. The ultimate kick ass noise rock - Old punks just get better and better.… Full Review »
  2. AlanK.
    Aug 16, 2002
    6
    Not truly awful, inspite of the praise others have heaped, Read & Burn sound standard, formulaic hard rock. Sure, it's energetic and Not truly awful, inspite of the praise others have heaped, Read & Burn sound standard, formulaic hard rock. Sure, it's energetic and sometimes compelling, but everything here's been done better by other artists. There are hooks, but there mostly formulaic. I've listened to it several times, it doesn't stick. This is the first time Wire has ever sound generic, and in a way that's worse than a failed experiment: Taking a chance and failing (as Wire often did in the 80s) is more respectable than unambitious mediocrity (ie Read & Burn).… Full Review »
  3. PaulK.
    Aug 8, 2002
    10
    Wire's coldly distainful wit has allowed them to carry their bite into the '00s. These guys will forever kick anyone's ass.
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