The Ideal Copy

I had a couple of hours to myself yesterday so I took the time to digitize some crusty vinyl - this week's tunes are all "ripped from the '80s."


Wire essentially disappeared after releasing 154 in 1979. Seven years later they returned with an EP called Snakedrill. The music on offer was a sharp departure from the old band's economy, with no sixty second songs of thick guitar riffing to be found here. The "new" Wire were enamored of all things electronic. Where it had been used as embellishment on early records, drum machines and synths were pushed to the forefront. Of course there were still guitars, they just didn't rock quite like they used to. They followed this up in 1987 with a long awaited new album, The Ideal Copy. Musically it continued the themes of the Snakedrill single, with the emphasis on electronics instead of the rock. Today's offerings are two of the most accessible tunes on it, with Ahead being a perfectly good New Order clone, and Ambitious being a teeth-clenchingly taut, jerky pop song. I absolutely love the vocals on this track - so edgy sounding. I should probably get myself a copy of this on CD...