''Object 47'' (''Object Forty-Seven'') is the eleventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the

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post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

, named so because it is the 47th item in the Wire discography – a methodology harking back to the name of their 1979 album, ''

154 Year 154 ( CLIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Lateranus (or, less frequently, year 907 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 154 for this ...

'', which was named after the number of concerts they had played to that point. It is the first Wire album without the participation of guitarist

Bruce Gilbert Bruce Clifford Gilbert (born 18 May 1946) is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental art punk band Wire,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 180-182 he branched ...

. It was released on 7 July 2008 in the UK and on 15 July in the US through the band's own Pinkflag label.

Background

''Object 47'' was Wire's first studio album since 2003's '' Send''. Recording for the album began in early 2007 at Metropolis 22 in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, where the band mainly recorded drum tracks, and continued until early 2008 at guitarist

Colin Newman Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire (band), Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury ...

's Swim Studio in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Concurrently with ''Object 47'', the band also recorded the '' Read & Burn 03'' EP, which was released in November 2007. Between 2003 and 2007, the band had amassed material which was split between the EP and the album. Tracks selected for the EP was material which the departed Bruce Gilbert had been involved with. Bassist

Graham Lewis Graham Lewis (born Edward Graham Lewis, 22 February 1953) is an English musician. He is best known as a bassist, songwriter, and vocalist with punk rock/post-punk band Wire, of which he has been a core member since founding in 1976. Biography ...

: "We grouped together anything Bruce had had a hand in, or just waved at, and that was ''Read & Burn 03''; then everything else went onto ''Object 47''." The track "All Fours" features

Page Hamilton Page Nye Hamilton (born May 18, 1960) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and record producer who founded the American heavy metal band Helmet in 1989. In the 1990s, Helmet and Hamilton were forerunners of alternative metal with the al ...

of American

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

band

Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

on guest guitar.

Critical reception

Many reviewers noted the album's melodic sensibility, with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

writing, "''Object 47'' highlights Wire's pop credentials, but the band hasn't lost its edge." ''

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'' ranked it 12th (out of 15) in their 2015 "Wire Albums from Worst to Best" list, saying that it is "the most normal sounding album from a band interested in being anything but." Despite the album missing "the abstract and artful twist that made Wire's early

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

records unique," it is "actually pretty good," and with a radio-friendly sound, one of Wire's "catchiest hours." ''

Guardian Unlimited ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wasn't impressed, writing, "Wire have consistently proclaimed a dedication to looking forward, yet many of the

dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance- infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and dis ...

collisions here seem rooted in the late 1980s/early 90s."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Wire. #"One of Us" – 3:45 #"Circumspect" – 3:13 #"Mekon Headman" – 2:58 #"Perspex Icon" – 3:16 #"Four Long Years" – 3:45 #"Hard Currency" – 3:50 #"Patient Flees" – 5:23 #"Are You Ready?" – 4:43 #"All Fours" – 4:05

Personnel

;Wire *

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, various,

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

, mixing *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, vocals ead vocals on 3, 8 various, photography * Robert Grey –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

;Additional musicians *

– guitar ''(credited with "feedback storm")'' ;Production *Frank Lievaart – recording (at Metropolis 22) *Denis Blackham – mastering *

Jon Wozencroft Jon Wozencroft (born 1 June 1958, in Epsom, England) is a graphic designer, author and instructor. Wozencroft founded Touch, an independent multimedia publishing company. Between 1982 and 1986 Touch "released around 15 products, concentrating on p ...

–

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Wire (band) albums Self-released albums Dance-rock albums