Forget the Ramones' brutal minimalism. On Pink Flag, Wire's fractured, visionary debut album from 1977, Newman, Gilbert, Lewis and Gotobed raced through 21 songs in under 40 minutes, never once forgetting to write a memorable hook-line, and some smart, sassy words. This is experimental, insidiously catchy art-pop at its peak. Fans argue over which of Wire's first three albums is the greatest--both the layered Chairs Missing and the synthesiser-laden 154 have their moments of sheer sublimeness--but there's no arguing that Pink Flag was the most ground-breaking. Its nervy, dissonant guitar-led sound went on to influence numerous bands over the following two decades--Blur and Elastica most famously among them. Even now, tracks like the invigorating punk love song "12XU" and fragile "Mannequin" sound state-of-the-art. This is a brilliant debut. --Everett True
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