Manscape
Studio album by
Wire
Released15 May 1990
Recorded1989–1990[1]
StudioRAK Studios, London
Worldwide Studios, London
Mixed at RAK Studios, London and Konk Studios, London
Genre
Length
  • 63:26 (CD)
  • 48:55 (LP)
Label
ProducerDavid M. Allen
Wire studio album chronology
It's Beginning To And Back Again
(1989)		 Manscape
(1990)		 The Drill
(1991)
Singles from Manscape
  1. "Life in the Manscape"
    Released: May 1990 (US)[2]
Alternative cover
Vinyl version cover

Manscape is the seventh studio album by the British post-punk group Wire, released in May 1990 by Mute Records. It was produced by David M. Allen, mostly recorded and mixed at RAK Studios, engineered by Roy Spong, and published by Dying Art Ltd.

Background

Manscape saw Wire exploring electronica more deeply than on previous works. Bass and drums were mostly sequenced, and a 1990 UK and European tour saw the band performing live without drummer Robert Gotobed.[3] They played mostly new material from the LP, as well as a few older songs reworked to fit the electronic instrumentation. The rise and evolution of dance music informed the record, while lyrically it remained part cut-up and part obliquely referential.

"The Morning Bell" is about the British public school system, while "Small Black Reptile" is about the political system. The record's centrepiece, "You Hung Your Lights in the Trees/A Craftsman's Touch", spans over ten minutes.[4] Bassist Graham Lewis's wife, Liv Elvander, co-wrote the lyrics for "What Do You See?".[5]

"Life in the Manscape", which was recorded at Worldwide Studios after the album sessions at RAK Studios, was added to the CD version of the album when the RAK sessions had failed to produce a single.[6] The track was released as the album's only single.[7]

The original vinyl release has a significantly different running order and omits "Life in the Manscape", "Stampede" and "Children of Groceries".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[9]

In a contemporary review, Entertainment Weekly wrote that the music is "wonderfully crafted, amounting to a textbook in evocative synthesizer sound. It's expressive, too, oscillating between pain and meditations. No matter what discomfort the lyrics might indicate, the music is strangely beautiful."[9] AllMusic's retrospective review said, "taken for what it is, Manscape is edgy, brainy dance music, but taken as part of the largely brilliant Wire oeuvre, it's a disappointment."[8] Trouser Press thought the album was soulless and called it "Wire's absolute nadir."[3]

In their 2015 "Wire Albums from Worst to Best" list, Stereogum ranked it 14th out of 15, writing, "There are flashes of intriguing material, like "Sixth Sense" ... "Small Black Reptile" is a fun slice of atmospheric pop, and "Torch It" even approaches Nine Inch Nails, if Trent Reznor sounded like a more distinguished British punk. But beyond these few highlights, so much of the album gets lost in meandering MIDIscapes that remove both the edge and the character from the band's songwriting. Add to that the slap-bass keyboard patches and flanger-heavy fuzz guitar, and for all of the things that Manscape does right, it's still an album that sounds hopelessly trapped in the early '90s."[10] 

Track listing

All tracks written by Bruce Gilbert, Robert Gotobed, Graham Lewis and Colin Newman, except as indicated.

  1. "Life in the Manscape" – 3:28
  2. "Stampede" – 4:35
  3. "Patterns of Behaviour" – 4:33
  4. "Other Moments" – 3:50
  5. "Small Black Reptile" – 3:14
  6. "Torch It!" – 7:31
  7. "Morning Bell" – 4:22
  8. "Where's the Deputation?" – 3:51
  9. "What Do You See?" (Liv Elvander, Gilbert, Gotobed, Lewis, Newman) – 6:47
  10. "Goodbye Ploy" – 3:50
  11. "Sixth Sense" – 4:19
  12. "Children of Groceries" – 3:03
  13. "You Hung Your Lights in the Trees/A Craftsman's Touch" – 10:03
UK Vinyl Version (Mute STUMM 80)
  1. "Patterns of Behaviour" – 4:16
  2. "Goodbye Ploy" – 3:47
  3. "Morning Bell" – 4:19
  4. "Small Black Reptile" – 3:12
  5. "Torch It!" – 7:25
  6. "Other Moments" – 3:47
  7. "Sixth Sense" – 4:18
  8. "What Do You See? (Welcome)" (Elvander, Gilbert, Gotobed, Lewis, Newman) – 6:46
  9. "Where's the Deputation?" – 3:46
  10. "You Hung Your Lights in the Trees / A Craftsman's Touch" (edited) – 7:19

Personnel

Wire
Production

References

  1. ↑ Neate 2013, p. 247.
  2. ↑ Lester, Paul (2009). Lowdown: The Story of Wire. London: Omnibus Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-84772-710-7.
  3. 1 2 "TrouserPress.com :: Wire". www.trouserpress.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  4. ↑ "Manscape". EW.com.
  5. ↑ Neate 2013, p. 256.
  6. ↑ Neate 2013, p. 257.
  7. ↑ Neate, Wilson. "Life in the Manscape Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  8. 1 2 https://www.allmusic.com/album/r22096
  9. 1 2 Sandow, Greg (15 June 1990). "Manscape review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Terich, Jeffrey (22 April 2015). "Wire Albums From Worst To Best". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 January 2023.

Sources

  • Neate, Wilson (2013). Read and Burn: A Book About Wire. London: Jawbone. ISBN 978-1-908279-33-0.


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