Nocturnal Koreans
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Nocturnal Koreans is the fifteenth studio album by British post-punk band Wire. It was released on 22 April 2016.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Arts Desk | [2] |
| Consequence of Sound | B-[3] |
| The Guardian | [4] |
| Monsters and Critics | 3.5/5[5] |
| PopMatters |   [6] |
| TeamRock | [7] |
| Under the Radar | 8.5/10[8] |
Background
The album grew out of tracks initially recorded for Wire’s self-titled 2015 album. At that time, the band had recorded a total of 19 tracks, 11 of which were selected for WIRE.
In a press release for the album, however, guitarist and singer Colin Newman, drew a distinction between the material selected for WIRE and that for Nocturnal Koreans: “The WIRE album was quite respectful of the band, and Nocturnal Koreans is less respectful of the band—or, more accurately, it’s the band being less respectful to itself—in that it’s more created in the studio, rather than recorded basically as the band played it, which was mostly the case with WIRE. A general rule for this record was: any trickery is fair game, if it makes it sound better.”[9]
Accolades
On 21 April 2016, Stereogum named Nocturnal Koreans their album of the week.[10]
| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Quietus | Albums of the Year 2016 | 2016 | 94
|
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nocturnal Koreans" | Graham Lewis | Colin Newman (song) / Wire (music) | 2:58 |
| 2. | "Internal Exile" | Lewis | Newman (song) / Wire (music) | 2:54 |
| 3. | "Dead Weight" | Newman | Newman (song) / Wire (music) | 3:03 |
| 4. | "Forward Position" | Lewis | Newman (song) / Wire (music) | 3:11 |
| 5. | "Numbered" | Newman | Newman (song) / Wire (music) | 3:29 |
| 6. | "Still" | Lewis | Newman (song) / Wire (music) | 2:30 |
| 7. | "Pilgrim Trade" | Lewis | Newman (song) / Wire (music) | 4:50 |
| 8. | "Fishes Bones" | Lewis | Robert Grey, Lewis, Newman, Matt Simms (song) / Wire (music) | 3:02 |
Personnel
- Wire
- Colin Newman – vocals [1-7], electric guitar [1-8], baritone electric guitar [3], acoustic guitar [2, 5, 7], keyboards [1-8], mandola [7], beatbox [1], production, mixing
- Graham Lewis – bass guitar [1-3, 5-8], vocals [3, 4, 8], MS-10 [3, 5], loops [8], inside photography
- Robert Grey – drums [1-3, 5- 8], glass [4], percussion [8]
- Matt Simms – electric guitar [1-8], lap steel guitar [1, 2, 4], acoustic guitar [2], trumpet [2], modular synth [5], piano [8], fx [4]
- Production
- Sean Douglas – engineer
- Denis Blackham – mastering
- Jon Wozencroft – art direction, photography
Charts
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] | 181 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[13] | 98 |
References
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Nocturnal Koreans review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ Green, Thomas H. "'CD: Wire - Nocturnal Koreans'". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ Kivel, Adam: "Wire – Nocturnal Koreans". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ Simpson, Dave. "Wire: Nocturnal Koreans review – abstract pop from post-punk heroes". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ Elbaum, Bella. "'Review: Wire: Nocturnal Koreans'". Monsters and Critics. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ Garratt, John. "Nocturnal Koreans review". PopMatters. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ Winwood, Ian. "Wire: Nocturnal Koreans". TeamRock. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ Lucas, Dan. "'Wire Nocturnal Koreans". Under The Radar. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ^ Neate, Wilson "Press Release for Nocturnal Koreans, 3 March 2016". Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ Breihan, Tom "Album Of The Week: Wire Nocturnal Koreans". Retrieved 21 April 2016.
- ^ "The Quietus Albums of the Year 2016". The Quietus. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Wire – Nocturnal Koreans" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 April 2016.