''A Bell Is a Cup... Until It Is Struck'' is the fifth studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the British

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

group

Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

Critical response

In 1989, the '' Trouser Press Record Guide'' described the album as "a stylized set of

dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

scapes and consciousness streams… It's arguably Wire's most ruminative album, and while immersion in it won't, as 'Silk Skin Paws' suggests, 'wring your senses' – that's more a job for ''

Chairs Missing ''Chairs Missing'' is the second studio album by English rock band Wire. It was released on 8 September 1978 by Harvest Records. The album peaked at number 48 in the UK Albums Chart. Although it features some of the minimalist punk rock of the ...

'' – it will twirl your

lobe Lobe may refer to: People with the name * Lobe (surname) Science and healthcare * Lobe (anatomy) * Lobe, a large-scale structure of a radio galaxy * Glacial lobe, a lobe-shaped glacier * Lobation, a characteristic of the nucleus of certain biolo ...

s a time or two." However, in a later edition, ''Trouser Press'' held a more critical view, writing "Wire stayed the

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

course with diminishing results on ''A Bell Is a Cup''." At the time of the album's release, Wire faced accusations that they had abandoned their earlier rough-edged sound for a softer, more refined style.

Graham Lewis Graham Lewis (born Edward Graham Lewis, 22 February 1953) is an English musician. Lewis is the bassist with punk rock/post-punk band Wire, a band formed in 1976. Biography On Wire's first studio album Graham Lewis was credited as ''Lewis''; ...

dismissed such criticism:

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album a laudatory review, describing the record as "arguably Wire's best album and certainly its most accessible… a work of modern rock genius."

Cover art

The sculpture shown is the Selene horse from the

Parthenon Marbles The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of the architect and s ...

Track listing

All tracks published by Stainless Music. The CD version appends the following tracks:

Personnel

;Wire *

Bruce Gilbert Bruce Clifford Gilbert (born 18 May 1946) is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental art punk band Wire (band), Wire,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 180-182 ...

Robert Gotobed Robert Grey (born 21 April 1951) is an English musician best known as the drummer for Wire. He is sometimes credited as Robert Gotobed. Career In 1973, Grey joined his first band, an R&B group called the Snakes, as vocalist. The Snakes released ...

(credited as "Lewis") *

Colin Newman Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire ...

;Production * Gareth Jones –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* David Heilmann –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Paul Davis –

front of house In the performing arts, front of house (FOH) is the part of a performance venue that is open to the public. In theatres and live music venues, it consists of the auditorium and foyers, as opposed to the stage and backstage areas. In a theatre, t ...

engineer 3, 14 * Simon Hardiman –

stage monitor A stage monitor system is a set of performer-facing loudspeakers called monitor speakers, stage monitors, floor monitors, wedges, or foldbacks on stage during live music performances in which a sound reinforcement system is used to amplify a p ...

engineer 3, 14 * Ifan Thomas – backline 3, 14 * Slim Smith – layout

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell Is A Cup, A 1988 albums Albums produced by Gareth Jones (music producer) Mute Records albums Wire (band) albums