WIRE: 154 Vinyl LP

Wire's third album in three years -- and the one where they stopped sounding like anyone but themselves.

154 (1979) takes the angular minimalism of Pink Flag and the textured expansion of Chairs Missing and pushes further into electronic atmosphere, found sound, and structural strangeness. Named for the number of shows the band played that year, it's a record that documents a band actively dismantling its own formula. "The 15th" and "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W" sit alongside abrasive, almost ambient pieces -- a transitional record that ended up being one of the most influential in the post-punk canon.