Wire We Listening?

The Ideal Copy

Wire

Enigma Records

THE PHENOMENON OF "GREAT BAND" reunions has plagued the music industry in past years. From three quarters of Led Zeppelin at Live-Aid to Deep Purple, Social Distortion to the Angry Samoans, the ghosts of music past have re-emerged to cash in on their fans' retroactive hero worship. Why not hit the reunion circuit? It sure beats sitting around the mansion watching the hair around your temples turn gray, or working as a garbageman, thinking of what might have been if wasn't for that heroin problem. After all, there are plenty of people willing to pay to see you go through the motions one last time, and all "creative differences" disappear when the buzz of stardom wears off.

The latest legends to resurrect themselves from the nether region of memory are Wire, four British lads who, as the legend goes, re-invented music at the end of the 1970s. Their blend of the visceral and the experimental, grinding guitars and synthesized textures, spawned an outrageous number of disciples in the American and British underground. Bands as diverse as Sonic Youth, 100 Flowers, Sorry, and R.E.M. all pay homage at the Wire altar. Brilliant albums such as The Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154, the holy trinity of progressive rock, forever ensured Wire's place at the pinnacle of modern music.

But, like all living legends, Wire called it quits, splitting off into various factions and solo projects. In late 1986, the band resurfaced, with all four original members, releasing the "Snakedrill" 12-inch. It appeared that, after a lengthy lay-over, the band was ready to pick up where they left off, with a heady mixture of keyboard-based art rock, submerged in swirling guitars and avant-garde postures. And the road to reunion was sweetened by the band members' floundering solo careers and a guaranteed record deal. The generation of admirers that the band weaned would surely come out in force with their re-emergence.

If only because of this haze of idolatry, the band's reunion LP The Ideal Copy is difficult to judge. Like "Snakedrill," the record is preciously avant-garde, relying on sequencers and synthesizers to provide the requisite experimental edge. This approach proves effective in several instances, most notably the single "Ahead." However, in the wake of their own myth, their own influence upon progressive music, Wire now sounds like just another aspiring art/synth band. Instead of the kings they once were, Wire now seem mere pretenders to the throne.

Understandably, The Ideal Copy pursues the same directions as the members' solo projects, most notably Colin Newman's recent records and Lewis and Gilbert's "He Said" releases. Guitars are buried low in the mix, if present at all, while sequencers and keyboards define the song structures. "The Point of Collapse" is built around a synthesizer riff of which Depeche Mode would be proud, while "Ahead" mines the dance-rock territory of New order. The menacing "Feed Me" follows the style of latter-day quasi-industrialists SWANS without achieving the genuine horror of the latter's aural experiments. All the above-mentioned bands have each achieved their own niche in modern music. In comparison, Wire's avant-garde is old hat.

Only on "Ahead" and "Over Theirs" does the band achieve any sort of success. The former is a shuffling, sequencer-laden dance tune, built around a piercing guitar riff. Though highly unoriginal, it's the record's only memorable tune. "Over Theirs" is a dirge-like ode to obscurity, in which singer Newman chortles about boundaries just out of sight, backed by a melodic guitar line and atmospheric keyboards. Although the band's art-school derision makes you cringe, the song achieves a sort of synthetic beauty despite itself.

The rest of The Ideal Copy ranges from incomprehensible to ridiculous, switching from jawdropping pretension to numbing boredom and incomprehensibility. "Cheeking Tongues" and "Ambitious" are both uninteresting melodic synth-pop, with a self-referential allusion to "12XU" that makes the reunion embarassment of the album all too glaring. This is music for icy hip drones, to be filed next to your new Cabaret Voltaire records for those autonomously cool experiences of a lifetime.

It would be ridiculous to expect The Ideal Copy to be a return to The Pink Flag or Chairs Missing. After all, Wire had begun to grow out of their punk youth even before they broke up. However, given the nature of their post accomplishments, an interesting record would suffice. With The Ideal Copy, the band has produced a void to fill a void, which will disappoint old and new fans alike. If you want to discover the truth behind Wire, the reasons behind their influence, check Pink Flag or Chairs Missing. If ultra-cool-progressive-art-dance-rock is your thing, pick up the latest New Order or SWANS 12-inch. But avoid The Ideal Copy. It's progressive rock with dentures.