Object 47 marks an unexpected turning point in the 30-year history of Wire: It's their first album that doesn't feature all the original members. When drummer Robert Gotobed (née Robert Grey) temporarily fired himself from the band in 1990, reasoning that drum machines had rendered him redundant, the remaining members shortened the bandname to Wir. For whatever reason, the recent departure of Bruce Gilbert-- who made only minimal contributions to the Read & Burn 03 EP-- hasn't led to the same symbolic gesture.
The album opens with a rush on "One of Us", with Graham Lewis' sharp and strongly melodic bassline, Grey's efficient beat, and a Colin Newman vocal that may be his best since the band reunited in 1999-- his refrain ("one of us will live to rue the day we met each other") is both ominous and oddly celebratory. In fact, the track is so strong that the rest of the record feels like a bit of a let-down in contrast. At least at first. While none of the other songs share the opener's bracing immediacy, they eventually reveal more subtle charms and innovations on repeated listens.
Part of this replayability stems from the fact that the album's nine songs are widely varied. "Perspex Icon" finds Newman layering guitar tracks and filtering his voice to fit the straightforward punk his bandmates give him-- one of few times the band attempts to compensate for Gilbert's absence with overdubs. On "Circumspect", they simply let Newman's circular guitar figure get swallowed by undulating bass while he sings in a subdued, almost tired tone. "Four Long Years" is effortlessly rhythmic, but it still has that very distinctive sonic coloration-- mechanistic but warm-- that's characterized Wire's reunion records.
The sound of Object 47 is generally clean. Even when the vocals are being run through processors and the guitars are distorted, it still feels managed, and a lack of high-range makes it inviting and easy to listen to even at its noisiest. This rings especially true for the buzzing "All Fours", featuring feedback courtesy of Helmet's Page Hamilton. The clear production doesn't serve "Patient Flees" as well, though-- it's the only track here that genuinely doesn't work. The list of spoken words that stands in for a chorus just doesn't have the intended impact, and the floundering verses can't make up for it. Still, on the whole, it's another strong outing from post-comeback Wire. Though Gilbert was an essential member and his contributions are missed here, there's still no mistaking Object 47 for the work of any other band.
