Wire are set to continue a busy 2015 with a second Drill festival, heading Stateside to perform with the likes of St Vincent and White Lung. After next week’s Drill: Lexington in the venue beneath tQHQ, where a select group of support acts including Karen Gwyer and Orlando will be helping the band launch their eponymous album, Wire will travel to Chicago in June for three concerts under the Drill banner.
Each event will feature Wire engaging in one-off collaborations with a variety of unique artists, including an extended study of ‘Map Ref. 41°N 93°W’ with one of the finest jazz musicians Chicago has ever produced, Ken Vandermark. Grammy-winning Annie Clark, best known as St Vincent, will join the band to perform a new version of ‘Drill’, the ever-changing song from which the festivals take their name.
Joining the lineup will also be Nate Wooley, Olivia Block, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Tim Hecker and Disappears. Tickets for both London and Chicago festivals are available here.
As for the band’s new album, Wire showcases a group still striving to challenge themselves, with a mixture of tracks honed on the road and songs frontman Colin Newman presented to the band just before entering the studio. The album is available to stream over at NPR, if you like it you can pre-order a copy from the band’s pinkflag store.
Both the album and the upcoming performances continue to prove that Wire are a comfortable with its history but not held back by it. Wire have turned down offers to reunite their original line-up and perform their 1970s music, but Newman is reluctant to look back. "The point where our personal narratives meet is all about change – moving on and keeping it interesting for ourselves. We’re in it for the long haul and this is a one-way trip."
