Bare Wires

There's nothing at all ironic about this band embracing '70s power pop. In the '80s, too many acts who were heavily influenced by the gritty glam rock of Slade and the sharp hooks of Sweet produced some seriously shlocky material. Bare Wires, meanwhile, seems to have taken stylistic cues from...

By Tom Murphy

March 1, 2011

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There's nothing at all ironic about this band embracing '70s power pop. In the '80s, too many acts who were heavily influenced by the gritty glam rock of Slade and the sharp hooks of Sweet produced some seriously shlocky material. Bare Wires, meanwhile, seems to have taken stylistic cues from Big Star's #1 Record and early punk: Think Stiff Little Fingers by way of T. Rex. The group's videos look as if they're stuck somewhere in high school during the Dazed and Confused, over-romanticized musical era best expressed by the early releases of Gary Glitter. But there is a charming immediacy and nervy energy to what these guys are doing, and that's what keeps their songs and performances from slipping into nostalgia-ville.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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