A thrilling marriage of ‘What happens if we push this?’-style experimentation and itchy, envelope-pushing pop, XTC’s third LP saw them going through changes.
Out went keyboardist Barry Andrews and in came Dave Gregory on second guitar alongside Andy Partridge. The aim – so far as Colin Moulding, bassist and writer of the band’s first hit Making Plans For Nigel was concerned – was to become less quirky and more accessible.
But Making Plans was an odd if brilliant hit, making Drums And Wires a record that continued to fly XTC’s freak flag high, albeit with better tunes.
Witness Partridge’s deliciously bonkers When You’re Near Me I Have Difficulty – a geeky homage to his schooldays crush Vanessa Kearley, it’s gloriously eccentric, full of impassioned twists.
At its root, Drums And Wires is prog through a post-punk and new-wave lens, its grooves playfully skewed; its angular, choice guitars clearly hip to the tonal abstractions of players such as then Magazine guitarist John McGeoch and Devo’s Bob Mothersbaugh.
Some might wonder why prog remixer-to-the-stars Steven Wilson has been tasked with buffing up such an ‘alternative’ record for Dolby Atmos Immersive Audio. But the art-rock credentials of Drums And Wires are never in doubt and its songs are progressive in an anarchic, sometimes witty, always thought-provoking way.
The chorus of Roads Girdle The Globe might sound like it’s being sung by Sham 69 on shore leave, but its complex, shape-shifting arrangement packs fine guitar riffs and moments of beautiful dissonance.
The CD/Blu-ray edition contains alternative takes, B-sides, standalone singles and versions of That Is The Way and Officer Blue restored to the tempo they were recorded at before varispeeding at the original mastering stage.
No boxes remain unticked – hence the 2025 reboot of Steve Lillywhite’s fine original production sounds daisy-fresh and clear as a bell. This is one of the most brilliantly idiosyncratic records of its era.
Drums And Wires is on sale now via Panegyric.
