AllMusic.com calls XTC “one of the smartest — and catchiest — British pop bands to emerge from the Punk and New Wave explosion of the late ’70s. From the tense, jerky riffs of their early singles to the lushly arranged, meticulous pop of their later albums, XTC’s music has always been driven by hook-laden songwriting of guitarist Andy Partridge and bassist Colin Moulding.” In an interview with Popdose, Partridge described 1992’s “Wrapped in Grey” as “ersatz Bacharach” and one of the “perfect songs” of his career, feeling that he had “exorcised a lot of those kind of Lennon-and-McCartney, Bacharach-and-David, Brian Wilson-type ghosts out of my system by doing all that.”
Drenched with harmonic tensions from its opening, the tune starts in B minor, transitioning to F# major for the chorus from 1:19 – 1:57; the cycle then repeats. The “everything but the kitchen sink” arrangement of saloon-style piano, sweet strings, varied percussion, wide-ranging backing vocals, and a chaotic, meter-shifted tag at 3:31 make this waltz a true “Exhibit A” from the later output of this singular band.
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