154 (Reissue): Vinyl LP

154from 1979 finds Wire moving away from its punk roots toward darker, more experimental horizons. There is less overt anger and insolence than in the past, and in its place is plenty of dark weirdness. truly disturbing at certain points, this album is a challenging listen. Beginning with the sinisterI Should Have Known Bettera song that has so little to do with the same-titled Beatles song that it really is scary,154follows with the shambling, atonalTwo People in a Roomand the choppy, robotic guitars ofThe 15th.The fiendishA Touching Displaysounds like music for a primitive rite, while onA Mutual Friend, close british invasion-flavoured harmonies collide with harsh, dangerous-sounding guitar chords. The highlight here, and arguably the most incredible song in Wire’s book, isMap Ref. 41 n, 93 w.words fail to conjure the otherworldly majesty of this track.