Bleep

The recent trio of Wire reissues is completed with their third LP 154. To fans of post-punk - hell, to fans of popular music - the first three records from Colin Newman’s group need no introduction. They are seminal albums that have long been imitated but rarely bettered. Continuing in the vein of preceding full-length Chairs Missing, 154 is a record full of dense songcraft that gives way to moments of clarity. We could list who it sounds like, though at this point it’s more a case of groups sounding like Wire. Suffice to say, it is more than worth your time. Reissued on wax and on CD, the latter is a particularly luxurious package. While the original record comes replete with B-sides, demos and other studio ephemera, the set also includes extensive literature from Jon Savage and Graham Duff as well as rare and unseen photographs taken by the band’s official photographer Annette Green.