Zaleski, Annie (20 March 2016). " "Music is so abused these days": XTC's Andy Partridge opens up about songwriting, painting and developing the "cruel parent gene" toward your own art". Salon . Retrieved 20 September 2017. No discussion of Drums and Wires would be complete without mentioning the album’s droning closer, ‘Complicated Game’. Sounding like they were taking off from where The Sensation Alex Harvey Band left on 1973’s ‘Faith Healer’, the song grows to a sinister crescendo that sounds like an embodiment of insanity. It also represents the band at the most visceral point they would reach in their career. Lyrically, the album focuses on the trappings of the modern world, a highly new wave sentiment. Best described as “polychromatic”, the album is an off-kilter, angular offering. With the effective production and compositional aspects of the album, they are matched by Partridge’s insightful lyrics and worldview. The third XTC record was a considerable improvement over Go 2. Keyboardist Barry Andrews had been replaced by guitarist Dave Gregory, so the sound had been completely revamped. It was still new wave, but guitar new wave more than keyboard new wave. The common 1979 British New Wave band use of reggae accents in some of the beats and guitars was still there, though.

Partridge formed what would become XTC with fellow Swindon, England, pub mates Colin Moulding and Terry Chambers in the mid ‘70s. For a while, they rode the new wave train with a changing lineup of members, releasing White Music in 1978 and Go 2 that same year. Their punk origins are very apparent on those records, which rip along at an expedient pace — far more jagged and confrontational than subsequent releases. The band chafed under the confines of leather and crew cuts, though, and soon broke free into uncharted pop territory. a b Kot, Greg (3 May 1992). "The XTC Legacy: An Appraisal". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 1 November 2020.I was fascinated with Chinese culture, and I started wearing Chinese clothes whenever I could get a hold of them,” Partridge recalls. “This fascination with China lasted until I saw the Tiananmen massacre on the TV. I thought, ‘Nope, don’t want to be fascinated by that no more.’”

Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding, Dave Gregory, Terry Chambers, Steve Warren, Hugh Padgham, Al Clark, Laurie Dunn – Vernon Yard Male Voice Choir on "Roads Girdle the Globe" [26] The band went on to release several more classic albums — including 1982’s English Settlement and 1986’s Skylarking, produced by Todd Rundgren. And they weathered their share of issues and triumphs as the years rolled on: the band stopped touring in the early ‘80s and focused on making albums, due in large part to Partridge’s distaste for performing live. (“Performing is very physical,” he says. “I’m not a physical [being]. I live in my brain. I barely exist outside of it.”) They also tussled with Virgin over profits. Still, there were bright spots, specifically 1986’s “Dear God,” one of their best known and highest praised songs of all time — despite its anti-religious message. Drums and Wires (US edition) (liner notes). XTC. Virgin Records. 1979. {{ cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) ( link) Amidst this splendid flowering of the post-punk community, replete with the sort of musical diversity that would have been unimaginable two years earlier and sadly unthinkable today, Swindon’s finest, XTC, also produced an early classic album with the Steve Lillywhite produced Drums And Wires. Andy Partridge recalls it as an optimistic time for the band. Dave Gregory’s arrival on guitar (replacing organist Barry Andrews who left following the release of Go2) marked a shift in style with the group now configured as a twin guitar/bass/drums line-up. Despite an endless touring schedule much time was spent honing new material. Both Partridge and Colin Moulding were growing in confidence as songwriters - this album did much to further their reputation for peerless post-punk pop tunes. But it was also Steve Lillywhite and engineer Hugh Padgham’s ability to give appropriate studio support and recording expertise to the more expansive pieces such as Roads Girdle The Globe and Complicated Game that helped to bring a new level of maturity to the overall feel of the release. a b c d Bernhardt, Todd (15 December 2008). "Dave remembers 'Making Plans for Nigel' ". Chalkhills . Retrieved 20 September 2017.Life Begins at the Hop" was released on 4 May 1979 [10] and became the first charting single for the band, [39] rising to number 54 on the UK Singles Chart. [40] They played a 23-date English tour, playing to half- or quarter-full concert halls. [8] In July, music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy were filmed for "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Life Begins at the Hop". [7] From 25 July to 17 August, they embarked on another tour of Australia, which was more successful. [8] [41] Immediately following the tour, the band arrived in Japan and played four dates in Osaka. Partridge recalled the band encountering much fan hysteria in Japan: "We could hardly go anywhere without being screamed at. You'd walk into a hotel lobby and there'd be a crowd of girls sitting around waiting for you." [42]

a b Manno, Lizzie (13 February 2019). "21. XTC, Drums and Wires". Paste . Retrieved 30 August 2019. Making Plans for Nigel” is a prime example of Moulding’s songwriting; the second song on Drums and Wires, “Helicopter,” is pure Partridge. While “Nigel” opens with the booming live drums made famous by Townhouse Recording Studio’s stone room (best known for birthing Phil Collin’s signature sound), “Helicopter” zips in on electric-sounding beats and a playful guitar line. Zippy, playful and futuristic, the song is perfect encapsulation of Partridge’s musical bugbears: novelty tunes heard courtesy of a junked record player his father nailed to a tea trolley. “I think he thought that was swish — that you could move it from one room to another and plug it in in another room,” Partridge says. “It was very perverse.” a b c Bernhardt, Todd; Partridge, Andy (6 January 2008). "Andy discusses 'Complicated Game' ". Chalkhills . Retrieved 30 August 2019. Moulding started actively writing songs on Drums and Wires, somewhat due to pressure from Partridge. Although he was the frontman, Partridge did not feel comfortable on stage; he wanted to share that time in the spotlight — or escape it all together. a b c Pareles, Jon (6 March 1980). "XTC: Drums And Wires". Rolling Stone. No.312. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009 . Retrieved 20 June 2011.Moulding and Chambers reunited in 2017 as TC&I, releasing an EP titled Great Aspirations and playing a run of sold-out shows in their hometown of Swindon. They released a live album in early August 2019, but Moulding isn’t sure they’ll continue with the project. Rathbone, Oregano (January 2015). "XTC – Drums And Wires". Record Collector. No.436 . Retrieved 19 March 2017. a b Dahlen, Chris (23 June 2004). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 August 2019.