One of the most unpredictable bands in the history of Rock music, Wire have been marching to the beat of their own drums for over 30 years now. Responsible for making one of the most seminal Punk albums of all time with 1977's Pink Flag, Wire have spent just about the rest of their career trying not to make the same album twice. They helped usher in minimalist Post-Rock with Chairs Missing and 154, made a comeback in the late 80's with the surprisingly accessible A Bell Is A Cup… and even were one of the first bands to incorporate Techno into Rock with their two early 90's albums. Those two albums however were the last of their output until they ended their silenced hiatus with the 2002 Read and Burn EP's and the 2003 comeback album Send that harkened back to their more intense and ferocious Pink Flag days. In typical Wire fashion however, their new album Object 47 is completely different Wire altogether.

Not only does Object 47 not take its overall cues from Wire's previous release, Wire isn't even the same band now that they've always been. Founding guitarist Bruce Gilbert is M.I.A. for this go round and Wire are now a three-piece for the first time since 1991 when original drummer Robert Grey left (but has been back since 2002). This three-piece has come up with an album of catchy and accessible rock tunes that wouldn't have felt out of place on A Bell Is A Cup. Album opener "One Of Us" is a catchy number that feels like something between Echo & the Bunnymen and The Psychedelic Furs and "Hard Currency" sounds like it takes influence from Electronic artists like Massive Attack. The only song here that sounds remotely like early Wire is the album closer "All Fours" which finds Helmet main man Page Hamilton lending a hand in the guitar squall department. Object 47 is nowhere close to the essential realm of Wire's late 70's output, but it is a respectable offering as late in their career as it has come.