Wire

Few acts have so steadily dismantled what punk means as Wire has. Formed in London in late 1976, the band captured the new genre’s trademark combustibility on its 1977 debut album Pink Flag. Most of the record’s flinty 21 songs last just a minute or two and went on to influence the blurted dynamism of American hardcore. Singer/guitarist Colin Newman’s acidic snideness was equally persuasive, though Wire were already flirting with pop hooks and synth textures on 1978’s Chairs Missing. Subsequent albums grew increasingly askew and minimalistic, confirming their status in the post-punk firmament. By the 1990s, indie rockers Guided By Voices and Spoon were citing Wire as a key influence, with dance-punk outfits Futureheads and Franz Ferdinand following suit in the 2000s. Not content to remain a static cornerstone, the band has continued to evolve and even incorporate shades of industrial and metal.