''Object 47'' is the eleventh studio album by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

band

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 ...

, named so because it is the 47th item in the Wire discography – a methodology harking back to the name of their 1979 album, '' 154'', which was named after the number of concerts they had played to that point. It is the first Wire album without the participation of guitarist

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 ...

. It was released on 7 July 2008 in the UK and on 15 July in the US through the band's own Pinkflag label.

Background

''Object 47'' is Wire's first studio album since 2003's '' Send''. Recording for the album began in early 2007 at Metropolis 22 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, where the band mainly recorded drum tracks, and continued until early 2008 at guitarist

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 ...

's Swim Studio in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Concurrently with ''Object 47'', the band also recorded the '' Read & Burn 03'' EP, which was released in November 2007. Between 2003 and 2007, the band had amassed material which was split between the EP and the album. Tracks selected for the EP was material which the departed Bruce Gilbert had been involved with. Bassist

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''; ...

: "We grouped together anything Bruce had had a hand in, or just waved at, and that was ''Read & Burn 03''; then everything else went onto ''Object 47''." The track "All Fours" features

Page Hamilton Page Hamilton (born May 18, 1960) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet. Most of his work has been in the hard rock and alternative metal styles, though he ...

of American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

band

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

on guest guitar.

Critical reception

Many reviewers noted the album's melodic sensibility, with

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 ...

writing, "''Object 47'' highlights Wire's pop credentials, but the band hasn't lost its edge." ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' ranked it 12th (out of 15) in their 2015 "Wire Albums from Worst to Best" list, saying that it is "the most normal sounding album from a band interested in being anything but." Despite the album missing "the abstract and artful twist that made Wire's early

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 ...

records unique," it is "actually pretty good," and with a radio-friendly sound, one of Wire's "catchiest hours." ''

Guardian Unlimited TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

'' wasn't impressed, writing, "Wire have consistently proclaimed a dedication to looking forward, yet many of the

dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and disco ...

collisions here seem rooted in the late 1980s/early 90s."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Wire. #"One of Us" – 3:45 #"Circumspect" – 3:13 #"Mekon Headman" – 2:58 #"Perspex Icon" – 3:16 #"Four Long Years" – 3:45 #"Hard Currency" – 3:50 #"Patient Flees" – 5:23 #"Are You Ready?" – 4:43 #"All Fours" – 4:05

Personnel

;Wire *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, various,

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

, mixing *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, vocals ead vocals on 3, 8 various, photography * Robert Grey –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

;Additional musicians *

– guitar ''(credited with "feedback storm")'' ;Production *Frank Lievaart – recording (at Metropolis 22) *

Denis Blackham Denis Blackham (born in 1952) is an English music mastering engineer. He began his audio mastering work in 1969 at IBC Studios in London, and later worked for Polygram, RCA, The Master Room, Nimbus Records, Tape One and George Peckham, Porky's ...

– mastering *

Jon Wozencroft Jon Wozencroft (born 1 June 1958, in Epsom, England) is a graphic designer, author and instructor. Wozencroft founded Touch Music, Touch, an independent multimedia publishing company. Between 1982 and 1986 Touch "released around 15 products, conce ...

–

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

References

2008 albums Wire (band) albums Self-released albums Dance-rock albums {{2000s-punk-album-stub