Wired: The Best of Haywire＜Colored Vinyl＞

Haywire's music consisted of a clean, hard pop sound with just the right amount of keyboards to keep them on the radio from the mid- to late '80s. Wired takes their best tunes from all four of their albums, serving up a decent array of power pop that holds its own. With four of these songs stemming from 1986's Bad Boys album, "Bad Boys," "Standin' in Line," "Dance Desire," and "Black and Blue," this compilation is all the material that's necessary from this Prince Edward Island band. Lead vocalist Paul MacAusland sounds seriously thorough, although the pretentiousness does break through on a few of the tracks. "Fire" is a great rock tune with an explosive chorus, while "Thinkin' About the Years" is a mild ballad with an honest attempt at stirring up nostalgia. With teased hair and ripped jeans, Haywire appealed to mainly teenagers, but the music they played was, at times, well within the radius of pure rock. Although they barely gained recognition outside of Canada's east coast, Haywire had a certain edge to their music that kept them adrift on radio, even if it was a short period of time. Nearly every song incorporates strong guitar and catchy rhythms, using sweet-tempered synth overlays a la Mr. Mister. Wired wraps up this groups short-lived career, with all the band's best releases. ~ Mike DeGagne