Change Becomes Us

Change Becomes Us is, in some ways, the representative Wire record, bringing together the band’s three periods into one very neat release.

“Re-Invent Your Second Wheel”, in particular, and Change Becomes You, in general, prove that a band like Wire isn’t about repeating history, but making more of it.

While revisiting old material is often seen as a sign of artistic death -- especially for a band as innovative as Wire -- they handle it creatively on Change Becomes Us.

As process-oriented as Marcel Duchamp, they've turned creaky blueprints into jumping-off points for wholly re-imagined pop tunes.

Because they write interesting but still enjoyable songs, as they do consistently on Change Becomes Us, they make their music worth coming back to again and again. 

Practice makes perfect for post-punk vets' 30-year-old song germs.

This is the best Wire album of this century.

By tying together new ideas with some old string, Change Becomes Us builds on the band’s iconoclastic tradition, further ensuring that the energy it’s put into producing one of the most challenging, curious, and appealing catalogs in the underground rock cannon hasn’t been for naught.

The songs are for the most part excellent, with a few tracks genuinely worthy of inclusion on their incendiary debut releases Pink Flag, Chairs Missing and 154; in several cases it's a wonder why this wasn’t attempted earlier.

Overall ‘Change…’ lacks Wire’s usual focus.