Album Review: Wire - Change Becomes Us

Y'know Wire… legendary British punk / post-punk venturers, influenced The Smiths; loved by Minor Threat; ripped off by Elastica. Wire are a band you cannot say anything negative about. That's the law. No matter how many so-so records they've cranked out since their brilliant imperial phase, which ended in '79 with 154. The ultimate critics band, you might say; the hipster mags and webzines gush over there deviously enigmatic lyrics and let's face it, their simple yet mysteriously quixotic music - delivered with that trademark “I know better than you” sneer - is the kind most hamfisted musos wish they could've penned had they the talent. 

Really, we need to stop encouraging them. The lyrics here are impenetrable as ever, but Wire's knack for conjuring consistently curious riddles a la Outdoor Miner is a long misplaced fragment from another time. For a band that once defined an aesthetic, there's a painful lack of new ideas. The sneer's still in place, but the music's devolved into an aimless guitar driven dirge, and whilst there are candidates queuing up around the block, the worst offender here is probably Attractive Space. Wire have gradually morphed in to shoegazers, and a thoroughly bored sounding ones at that. 

There was once a conspiracy theory that in 1966 Paul McCartney, having died, was replaced in the Beatles by a look-a-like imposter. Of course there's no real proof - much as there's no substantial evidence that Wire haven't been replaced by a covers band. Or does Change Becomes Us offer some subtle clues? Hmm...