Red Barked Tree

VINYL FORMAT. At a time when back catalog outsells fresh creativity and newcomers achieve fame by adding a lick of paint to their parents' record collections, it's unusual to find a band who, despite plying their trade for decades, are willing and able to make new work that's as vital and relevant as their own illustrious past recordings. Wire are such a band, and with Red Barked Tree they have succeeded in making a statement that will sound as strong in thirty years as their celebrated historical oeuvre does today. Red Barked Tree rekindles a lyricism sometimes absent from Wire's previous work and reconnects with the live energy of performance, harnessed and channeled from extensive touring over the past few years. Red Barked Tree was conceived, written and recorded mostly during 2010 by the pared-down lineup of Colin Newman, Graham Lewis and Robert Grey - with no guests. Ranging from the hymnal 'Adapt' to the barking sledgehammer art-punk of 'Two Minutes,' the album encompasses the full range of style and nuance that has always endeared Wire to pastel-tinged pop aficionados and bleeding-edge avant-rockers alike.