Wire

On this sublime follow-up to Pink Flag, Wire strip away most of their terse punk coating and let their creative art-school inclinations fly. Very English and very controlled, Wire nevertheless somehow manage to entertain while being cold and clinical (check out "Marooned, "French Film Blurred" and the highly melodic alternative hit "Outdoor Miner"). Like Gang of Four, Wire prove that the tension between crafting pleasing pop full of lofty modern theory can succeed, because they made music that belongs in the better student unions instead of boring lecture halls.