WIRE * RED BARKED TREE
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In all fairness, and with full disclosure, I lack a decent amount of formal knowledge on Wire as a whole...probably because their first record came out a few years before I was born. During their formative years as a band, I was in my formative years as a human being. 'Nuff said.
Red Barked Tree is one of those records I expected myself to embrace. It's a backstory that I enjoyed reading. Post-punk pioneers getting back to their roots, in sound, style and substance. Sitting down, I cranked up the lead track "Please Take" and eagerly anticipated where this record would take me...then it was 20 minutes later, and I was still waiting for something to happen. Now the first half of the record wasn't bad, it was just kind of there. For an influential band such as Wire claiming that they were going to get back to their roots, this was not a step in the right direction. I persisted, because anyone that knows me knows that I must give an album a full two listens before I let myself properly critique it. The second listen for me didn't differ too much, although it did allow for a previously unnoticed highlight, the blistering 2:01 track aptly titled "Two Minutes." It's really a shame that this was just one of the very few bright spots in an overall lackluster record.
In a year where they're doing a substantial tour of the States (and are rumored to have an enviable time slot at Coachella), Wire better make up for their latest effort on stage.
Grade: C
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