| Artist |
Wire |
| Album Title: |
Mind Hive |
| Album Cover: |
 |
| Primary Genre |
Alternative & Punk: Post-Punk |
| Format |
Vinyl |
| Released |
01/24/2020 |
| Label |
PinkFlag/Mutesong |
| Catalog No |
PF25LP |
| Bar Code No |
5 02454 587596 6 |
| Packaging |
LP Sleeve |
| Tracks |
| A1.
|
Be Like Them (3:52)
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| A2.
|
Cactused (3:35)
|
| A3.
|
Primed and Ready (2:44)
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| A4.
|
Off the Beach (2:23)
|
| A5.
|
Unrepentant (5:02)
|
| B1.
|
Shadows (2:46)
|
| B2.
|
Oklahoma (3:08)
|
| B3.
|
Hung (7:54)
|
| B4.
|
Humming (3:29)
|
|
| Date Acquired |
03/05/2020 |
| Personal Rating |
 |
| Acquired from |
The Band At A Gig |
| Purchase Price |
25.00 |
Web Links |
All Music Guide Entry:
Discogs Entry:
Wikipedia Entry: |
Notes |
Notes:
'Indies Only' Embossed Sleeve With Orange Artwork.
Credits:
Art Direction, Photography – Jon Wozencroft
Bass – Graham Lewis
Drums – Robert Grey (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B3)
Electric Guitar – Matthew Simms
Electric Guitar, Keyboards – Colin Newman
Engineer – Sean Douglas
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Matthew Simms
Lacquer Cut By – Pete Norman
Mastered By – Denis Blackham
Music By – Wire
Songwriter – Colin Newman (tracks: A1 to B1, B3 to B4), Graham Lewis (tracks: B2)
Text By – Colin Newman (tracks: A2, A5), Graham Lewis (tracks: A1, A3 to A4, B1 to B4)
Vocals – Colin Newman (tracks: A1 to B1, B3 to B4)
Companies, etc.:
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Pinkflag
Copyright © – Pinkflag
Published By – Pinkflag
Published By – Mute Song
Recorded At – Rockfield Studios
Produced At – Swim Studio
Lacquer Cut At – Finyl Tweek
Mastered At – Skye Mastering
Barcode and other Identifiers:
Barcode (Scanned): 5024545875966
Matrix / Runout (Side A runout, hand-etched): PF 25 LP · A1 ΛΛ
Matrix / Runout (Side B runout, hand-etched): PF 25 LP · B1 VΛ
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| Reviews |
All Music Guide Review by Heather Phares:
One of the great joys of Wire's music in the 2010s and beyond is how brilliantly they reinvent their enduring strengths in equally timeless and timely ways. On Mind Hive, the band's legendary skill at writing concise songs filled with layers of meaning comes to the fore. Even its title is compact yet complex, flipping a statement of shared knowledge -- and perhaps conformity -- into one of restless intelligence. Wire don't waste any of the album's terse 35 minutes; instead of the ruminative approach they took on Silver/Lead, they immediately spring into action. They're still unrivaled at capturing crisis points in their music: On "Be Like Them," Colin Newman's voice is chiseled to a fine point and backed by hammering riffs as he laments humanity's vicious, and violent, circles. Graham Lewis takes a more surreal approach with lyrics like "I admired your sexy hearse" on "Oklahoma," but the tension that runs through it is just as taut as it is on the hypnotic, nerve-wracking "Hung." Wire's time-tested flair for cloaking ominous moods in irresistible tunes shines on Mind Hive, particularly on a string of incisive pop songs in the vein of Chair's Missing. It's still thrilling to hear Newman proclaim "discard new litanies" over sparkling guitars and keyboards on "Cactused," and if the grinding groove of "Primed and Ready" sounds surprisingly upbeat, "Off the Beach"'s lilting melody and uneasy imagery ("CC cameras/Knives and hammers") reinforces the overall mood of justified paranoia. Later, when Wire revisits the more expansive style of albums such as Silver/Lead, it's just as purposeful as what came before. The deceptively serene glide of "Unrepentant" offers a breather from the album's forceful beginnings and ushers in its brooding second half, which is exemplified by "Shadows." A glimpse of an atrocity that could have happened decades ago -- or could be yet to occur -- it's a harrowing, masterful example of Wire's eloquence when it comes to history repeating itself. Crucially, when they touch on their own past, it never, ever sounds complacent (of course, it never sounded complacent back then, either). The issues Wire grapple with are evergreen, and as they persevere in the face of stupidity and apathy, Mind Hive's unflinching, poetic songs prove maturity is a weapon they wield just as deftly as outrage.
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| Cover 1 |
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| Cover 2 |
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| Cover 3 |
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| Cover 4 |
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| Cover 5 |
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| Cover 6 |
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