Manscape

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Manscape
Studio album by Wire
Released	May 1990
Genre	Alternative rock, pop
Length	63:26
Label	Mute (UK)/Restless
Producer(s)	David M. Allen
Professional reviews
All Music Guide (2/5) link
Wire chronology
It's Beginning To And Back Again (1989)	Manscape (1990)	The Drill (1991)

Manscape is an album released in 1990 by the British post-punk group Wire. It was produced by David M. Allen, recorded and mixed at RAK Studios, engineered by Roy Spong, and published by Dying Art Ltd.

Manscape saw Wire exploring electronica more deeply than before. Bass and drums were mostly sequenced and a 1990 UK and European tour saw the band performing live without Robert Gotobed, once again playing mostly new material from the LP and a few older songs reworked to fit the electronic instrumentation. The rise and evolution of dance music informed the record while lyrically it remained part cut-up and part obliquely referential. 'The Morning Bell', one of the more striking tracks on the record, seems to be about the British public school system, a subject well known to Colin Newman, where 'Small Black Reptile' about the political system. The record's centrepiece is 'You Hung Your Lights In the Trees/A Craftsman's Touch', a hypnotic stuttering drone that spans fourteen minutes.

The original vinyl release has a significantly different running order and omits 'Life in the Manscape'.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Life in the Manscape"
2. "Stampede"
3. "Patterns of Behaviour"
4. "Other Moments"
5. "Small Black Reptile"
6. "Torch It"
7. "Morning Bell"
8. "Where's the Deputation?"
9. "What Do You See?"
10. "Goodbye Ploy"
11. "Sixth Sense"
12. "Children of Groceries"
13. "You Hung Your Lights in the Trees/A Craftsman's Touch"

UK Vinyl Version (Mute STUMM 80)

1. "Patterns Of Behaviour"
2. "Goodbye Ploy"
3. "Morning Bell"
4. "Small Black Reptile"
5. "Torch It"
6. "Other Moments"
7. "Sixth Sense"
8. "What Do You See? (Welcome)"
9. "Where's The Deputation?"
10. "You Hung Your Lights In The Trees / A Craftsman's Touch"