Silver/Lead

Wire - Silver/Lead
Critic Score
Based on 22 reviews
2017 Ratings: #492 / 940
User Score
Based on 61 ratings
2017 Rank: #819
Liked by 1 person
March 31, 2017 / Release Date
LP / Format
Pinkflag / Label
Post-Punk / Genre
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CRITIC REVIEWS

91
GIGsoup

Neither Lewis nor Newman is a natural-born singer, but they both know how to get the most out of their voices. Together with Grey and Simms, they are still in top form.

89
Paste

The serpentine subtleties and fresh takes on old ideas are what make Silver/Lead an especially engaging listen. These sorts of background-noise intricacies are what make the album sound so permeated by friendly ghosts, both in pushing forward to something new and harkening back to their heyday.

80
Loud and Quiet

‘Silver/Lead’ is a harmonically and melodically rich album – with occasional stabs of heavier guitar, brooding bass and lurking drums – and feels like an example of not a rare gem late in the band’s catalogue but yet another example of their consistent evolution.

80
The Independent

Despite their determinedly exploratory approach, the lingering traces of those origins still show through here as a sort of stylistic palimpsest.

80
The Guardian

They may not take the brave leaps into new territories they once did, but instead explore the detail in the terrain they themselves uncovered.

80
The Line of Best Fit

At this point in their uniquely demarcated, legacy-remodeling run, they seem practically incapable of making a misstep.

80
DIY

What’s most impressive is that Wire are still willing to evolve their sound and question perceptions of the music they make. ‘Silver/Lead’ is an accomplished record from a band who continue to challenge their audience.

80
AllMusic

As precise as ever yet oddly moving, Silver/Lead reaffirms that Wire are more like mercury, shape-shifting effortlessly while remaining true to the things that have always made them great.

80
PopMatters

To call it relaxed would be misleading, because there is, as ever, an unmistakable tension to the band, but maybe comfortable would be more accurate. Comfortable in their own skin and comfortably uncomfortable with the harrowing world outside.

71
Pitchfork

There are few surprises in individual songs—some even sound like variations on each other—but each one holds something memorable. On that level, Silver/Lead is a well-made rock record by a band who knows how to make rock records well.

70
Alternative Press

The sound of Silver/Lead is undeniably modern, if a little too slickly rendered at times. Add a sweetly romantic bent into the mix and the result is another solid addition to a nearly peerless discography.

60
The Skinny

The biggest problem with this album is its bloated mid-section, which drags down the commendable peaks of its opening and closing segments. Slow, drab arrangements are plentiful and the lyrics become pointedly lazy.

58
Pretty Much Amazing

Silver/Lead contentedly just continues in the latter two’s path, and I would wager a guess that none of people who praise this will end up caring about it a year after the fact.

58
A.V. Club

As Wire celebrates its 40th birthday, it’s reassuring to know that the band’s eagerness for experimentalism—and its talent for expressing it in (mostly) sharply honed rock songs—remains as boundless as ever.

50
Exclaim!

The band's work has undoubtedly mellowed in recent years, but they've rarely turned in a set of songs as listless as this.

40
Under the Radar

Nothing really stands out, and the songs that do ... don't leave enough of an impression to be overly impressed by.

ItzProMusic
64

Wire release Silver/Lead, a very mellow post-punk album, to mark their 15th studio album. The songwriting on this LP is great as always and the band remains very consistent with this release. Personally, I don’t find it too amusing. It’s pretty boring here and there but it is certainly a good project so I can respect that. There are a lot of parts though that sound kind of tiring and lazy though and almost as if this project was dragged out just to fit its release. All in all, Wire ... read more

chessmess
25

I don't even know why I'm still here waiting for a record akin to Pink Flag.

Valeron21
79

Oh boy, never been into this band, but that record is great.
They know what they want and they deliver it.
"Diamonds in Cups", "Brio", "Silver/Lead"

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Track List

  1. Playing Harp for the Fishes
  2. Short Elevated Period
  3. Diamonds in Cups
  4. Forever & a Day
  5. An Alibi
  6. Sonic Lens
  7. This Time
  8. Brio
  9. Sleep on the Wing
  10. Silver / Lead

Year End Lists

#11/Louder Than War
#36/MOJO
#87/The Quietus
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Added on: January 23, 2017