Wire: A Bell Is A Cup Until It Is Struck : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The British postpunk pioneers of Wire were one of the prime influences on bands like the Cure, Hüsker Dü and R.E.M. They have survived long enough to see their influence bear fruit while moving on to a more trancey, hypnotic kind of music that just might inspire yet another generation of musicians.

Wire weaves intricate textures out of the most basic materials; the components of a song are almost as fascinating as their interplay. On this record, timbre is as important as any other facet of the music.

You need a special decoder ring (not included) to understand the lyrics, but maybe they were designed to be misunderstood. Even "Kidney Bingos," the most poppy song on this album, has a chorus that runs, "Money spines paper lung/Kidney bingos organ fun." You might very well find yourself singing along, and the tune will haunt you for weeks, but what the heck does it mean?

Someone once said that architecture is frozen music; Wire's music is animated architecture. Wire won't blow you out of the room; it'll just keep you from leaving it.