'154' from 1979 finds wire moving away from its punk roots toward darker, more experimental horizons. there is less overt anger and insolence than in the past, and in its place is plenty of dark weirdness. truly disturbing at certain points, this album is a challenging listen. beginning with the sinister 'i should have known better' a song that has so little to do with the same-titled beatles song that it really is scary, '154' follows with the shambling, atonal 'two people in a room' and the choppy, robotic guitars of 'the 15th.' the fiendish 'a touching display' sounds like music for a primitive rite, while on 'a mutual friend,' close british invasion-flavored harmonies collide with harsh, dangerous-sounding guitar chords. the highlight here, and arguably the most incredible song in wire's book, is 'map ref. 41 n, 93 w.' words fail to conjure the otherworldly majesty of this track. this remastered reissue was overseen by colin newman and comes in a digipak sleeve with a 12 page booklet.