Deep into the third phase of their now 30-year career as a band, Wire is still proving that they have the spark of brilliance as well as the ability to execute their musical ideas with grace and artfulness. The third in a slow-release series of EPs, Read & Burn 03 begins with a synthesizer whine that gives way to a fluttering rhythm track over which bassist Bruce Gilbert spins off a Burroughs-like stream of images. Had it continued along that road, the track would have still been brilliant, but in the midst of its undulations comes a full force swell of a chorus, sung by Colin Newman with his trademark bilious tone. It is one of the most striking songs of the band’s career and it is followed up splendidly by three smoldering post-punk numbers that smear together the experimental tinges of their early work with the more pop-centric work of their middle period albums.
-- Bob Ham
