This came in yesterday, and yes, I guess for once “post-punk legends” is an acceptable term. So this came in yesterday in amongst a million press releases about art shows in Miami and what Charli xcx is doing (headlining a festival in East London next Summer if you really need to know!) or Tokyo Blade’s new album that sounds just like they did in their very metal 80’s or Jeff Wall’s new White Cube exhibition which we’ll tell you more about or Gary kemp’s new single (not listened to it, not yet), in amongst all the none stop press releases, this one came in –

“Just a quick heads up that Edvard Graham Lewis, bassist and lyricist of post-punk legends Wire, announces his new solo record tomorrow, with the magnificent track “Last Scene Of All”, where a collage of Shakespeare booms across fevered siren squeals of guitar” –

So the press release came in yesterday telling us what was happening tomorrow which is of course today now and today, Edvard Graham Lewis, yer man from Wire and yes the finger prints are there, none of the edge lost, here, have a listen, more under the music…

Here’s what the press release says…

“Today Maverick musician and artist Edvard Graham Lewis returns with new album ‘Alreet?’: an exciting album of majestic, experimental pop set for release on January 24th via Upp Records.
 
The cheery North Eastern greeting of the album’s title belies the tension and drama that lies within. Here, you’ll find visceral rhythms, warm electronics and multiple melodic layers, with words that are sometimes sung, sometimes spoken. Lewis’s deep, distinctive voice has matured into a rich baritone: portentous yet immediate – and it serves his material exceptionally well.
 
Today, along with the announcement he shares the urgent broadcast “Last Scene Of All”, where speeches from Shakespeare’s As You Like It and The Tempest lock together to suggest a life going out with a bang not a whimper. Lewis is one of very few artists with the confidence and brio to create a lyric collaged purely from the works of Shakespeare. Set against chugging beats and siren squeals of guitar, it’s a fevered and compelling introduction to the album.

Although Edvard Graham Lewis is perhaps best known as bassist/vocalist/lyricist with post-punk titans Wire, Lewis’s solo work is equally powerful. Lyrically he remains one of our finest wordsmiths. His desire to edit his text to its essentials is smartly counterbalanced by an ability to seed double or triple meanings in his phraseology. Consequently, ‘Alreet?’ is studded with lines and couplets that snare our attention with unexpected hooks and barbs.
 
The album was co-produced with Swedish songwriter, producer and musician Max Lorentz, who has worked with everyone from acclaimed composer Magnus Lindberg, to ABBA’s Agnetha Faltskog. It features contributions from Wire cohorts Matthew Simms and Robert Grey, cello by Kevin Kirs Vestege, hurdy-gurdy by Harald Pettersson and guitars sampled from ex-Wire member Bruce Gilbert.
 
Aside from his work with Wire, Lewis has previously released a string of solo albums, under both his own name and the He Said and H-A-L-O monikers. Meanwhile, in partnership with Wire’s Bruce Gilbert, he created five albums of industrial strength studio manipulation as Dome. He has also recorded scores for documentaries, dance pieces and art installations, as well as recording collaborative albums with various musical luminaries, including Mike Watt, Jean-Louis Huhta, Ted Milton and Anna Livia Löwendahl-Atomic.
 
As ‘Alreet?’ clearly demonstrates, Lewis is still firmly facing the future and determined to unearth new sonic treasure. Indeed, this is one of the most starkly original albums you will hear all year”.

Hey, we can’t be thinking about 2025’s album of the year, we’re only just starting to think about 2024’s list (and end of year radio show), still more than a month to go yet, what’s with all these 2024 lists being published already? I suspect, on the strength of just this one track, the new Edvard Graham Lewis album will be figuring in those 2025 lists. More when we have more to tell you about.

And here, while you’re thinking about this year’s end of year list or even next year’s, is last years because, to quote Uriah Heep, today is only yesterday’s tomorrow – ORGAN: Our best 43 albums of a very musically busy 2023. Who did we rate?