Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Language available : english
Wire's return to full-time active duty came as something of a surprise. Colin Newman, Bruce Gilbert, and Graham Lewis (the latter two both separately and as the duo Dome) had been growing increasingly abstract and non-rock in the six years since the group had split up, but 1988's A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck is, at heart, an album full of pop songs. Admittedly, they're mainly peculiar pop songs full of stream-of-consciousness lyrics ("Money spine paper lung kidney bingos organ fun," goes the chorus of the catchiest song, sung by Newman in a dreamy reverie as if the unrelated non sequiturs were just another love song) and produced in an oddly detached way that emphasizes the atmospheres over the melodies, but they're pop songs nonetheless. Newman and Lewis coat the songs with overdubbed layers of gentle guitars, treated and phased into waves of sound that ebb and flow around the songs over Gilbert's throbbing bass and Robert Gotobed's dancefloor-based rhythms. Arguably Wire's best album and certainly its most accessible, A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck is a work of modern rock genius. The CD includes four bonus tracks, including a thoroughly reworked alternate version of "The Queen of Ur and the King of Um" and a chugging eight-minute live version of "Drill."
© Stewart Mason /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 13,50€/month
Wire, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, Featured Vocalist, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1987 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Wire, MainArtist
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1986 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Albumbeschreibung
Wire's return to full-time active duty came as something of a surprise. Colin Newman, Bruce Gilbert, and Graham Lewis (the latter two both separately and as the duo Dome) had been growing increasingly abstract and non-rock in the six years since the group had split up, but 1988's A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck is, at heart, an album full of pop songs. Admittedly, they're mainly peculiar pop songs full of stream-of-consciousness lyrics ("Money spine paper lung kidney bingos organ fun," goes the chorus of the catchiest song, sung by Newman in a dreamy reverie as if the unrelated non sequiturs were just another love song) and produced in an oddly detached way that emphasizes the atmospheres over the melodies, but they're pop songs nonetheless. Newman and Lewis coat the songs with overdubbed layers of gentle guitars, treated and phased into waves of sound that ebb and flow around the songs over Gilbert's throbbing bass and Robert Gotobed's dancefloor-based rhythms. Arguably Wire's best album and certainly its most accessible, A Bell Is a Cup...Until It Is Struck is a work of modern rock genius. The CD includes four bonus tracks, including a thoroughly reworked alternate version of "The Queen of Ur and the King of Um" and a chugging eight-minute live version of "Drill."
© Stewart Mason /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 01:10:27
- Main artists: Wire
- Label: Mute, a BMG Company
- Genre: Electronic
© 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company ℗ 1988 Mute Records Ltd., a BMG Company
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.