Fearfulness of listening in the dark

Wire's latest is not so recent, a put-together of two EPs and a few other songs -- real fans be prepared to be ripped-off. Even so, the pulsating of this distortion is captivating. \nWith the fearfulness of listening (like the kind you get from Joy Division), you'll feel like you dug up some record you weren't supposed to hear. These dark, gray, fuzzed guitars will give you a scene of forceful tenderness when paired with sweetly gritty vocals. Other times the British punks come off as an odd time-lapse with some new wave shit, but better. The electronically-hinged 11 tracks are thick enough to take a chunk out of and leave some balance remaining. Then there's the especially punkified snare-driven rant thrown into the middle, with hopefully sparse drum work. Over that vocals croaking "And the chorus goes, and chorus goes, bu bu bu bu bu bang," followed by some zippy distortion. It's nice what these guys can do with an on-again, off-again career since the '70s supporting them. The album gets a bit annoying with the Rush-type slightly orchestral vocals backing one of the middle tracks, but it's not that noticeable. This barrage of distortion starts off good and remains throughout.