Pink Flag/ChairsMissing/154 (reissues, 1977, ’78, ’79)
PINK FLAG
9/10 | 9/10 | 9/10 WIRE’S first three LPs chart an evolution that appears so accelerated, you typically only see its like displayed by rogue AI in sci-fi potboilers. In the space of three short years, the London quartet learned how to play their instruments, released one of the great major-label punk records, perfected the art of the obtuse pop song, and then left the orbit of rock’n’roll entirely. Wire’s tone could be lofty – arrogant, even. But their early music is also hugely generous, packed with unusual melodies, smart studio tricks, unusual concepts; a Wire song might be about swimming, or insects, or air travel, or something altogether more enigmatic and obscure.
This new raft of reissues collecting remastered versions of…