You know, it's dead easy to make rock music. You only need an electric guitar with a distortion pedal, a nephew who can play bass, and a random kid who hits the drums. And those last two aren't even required, because everyone with a simple PC or Mac can use a multi-track recorder and a drum sequencer to record it all solo. Tune your guitar in an open-e chord, and play barre chords you nicked from a Nirvana sheetbook. It doesn't even matter if you hit a wrong note, because everyone will interpret it as a 'sign' of a good rocker.
No wonder there are so many rock bands.
However, only a few bands break trough to the Walhalla of rock and play gigs for 100,000 people and get beautiful naked woman. That is because they actually make something special with those simple ingredients. And one of those 'special' bands is the avant-garde noise rock formation Wire. You may remember Wire; hell, even your father could remember them. They have been making music for almost thirty years. Not quite the same road as Mick Jagger and his wrinkled friends-- Wire actually made something interesting during those thirty years.
Send is the newest addition to their catalogue. It includes tracks from earlier Read & Burn EPs plus four new songs. In total, that makes 11 tracks full of hard, aggressive, raging music. Lead vocalist Bruce Gilbert growls, sometimes barely hearable, but in such a way that you get the feeling that he's probably telling you something very important. I don't care how he sings it. But perhaps the the most admirable fact about Send is that it gives you the feeling that you're walking in an obscure part of town and discover a small stage where a band is playing that you've never heard of, but gives you the feeling that you hit upon something special.
1. In The Art Of Stopping
2. Mr. Marx's Table
3. Being Watched
4. Comet
5. The Agfers of Kodack
6. Nice Streets Above
7. Spent
8. Read and Burn
9. You Can't Leave Now
10. Half Eaten
11. 99.9
More about: Wire
