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The No Wave Movement... Reviewed
I’ve been thinking about writing a journal or starting an album review thread for quite some time, but… I have been hesitant in doing so due to my lack of experience in reviewing albums. After a few months, however, I worked up enough courage to actually start one. So, why not choose a topic that I have a passion for and that has been relatively neglected? It’s obvious that I chose the No Wave movement (hence the fucking title). Alright, so… allow me to briefly establish what the No Wave movement actually is/was. Essentially, it was an art movement that took place in New York City’s underground from the late 70s to the early 80s. It covered certain art forms, such as: film, performance art, music, and contemporary art. Of course, the purpose of this thread is to review the musical aspect of the movement and not the others (sorry to disappoint you). And now comes the almost cliché statement that is normally associated with No Wave… Even though it was merely a “blip” upon the screen of musical history, it had a profound influence on many musicians to come. To be specific, it only lasted around five to eight years (it varies), but it covered a vast array of genres in the process, like: noise rock, synthpop/minimal-synth, funk, post-punk, surf rock, jazz, alternative rock, blues, opera, industrial music, avant-prog, art rock, various forms of punk rock, and avant-garde/experimental music in general. I’m not going to get into too much detail, though. If you wish to know more, then just Google it or watch the Kill Your Idols documentary (highly recommended). ' Here are the bands and musicians that I will be reviewing: ► 3 Teens Kill 4 ► 8-Eyed Spy ► Beirut Slump ► Bound & Gagged ► Bush Tetras ► Chinese Puzzle ► Circle X ► Circus Mort ► Come On ► The Dance ► Dark Day ► The Del-Byzanteens ► DNA ► Foetus ► Friction ► Glenn Branca ► Hi Sheriffs of Blue ► Ike Yard ► impLOG ► Inflatable Boy Clams ► James Chance and his collaborations and projects (I.e. the Contortions, the Blacks, Flaming Demonics) ► Jill Kroesen ► Jody Harris ► John Gavanti (Mars & DNA) ► Judy Nylon ► Liquid Liquid ► Lizzy Mercier Descloux ► The Lounge Lizards ► Mars ► Massacre ► Model Citizens ► Mofungo ► Oil Tasters ► Plebs ► Pulsallama ► Raybeats ► Rhys Chatham ► Rosa Yemen ► Seems Twice ► Sonic Youth ► The Stick Men ► The Static ► Swans ► Suicide ► Teenage Jesus & the Jerks ► Theoretical Girls ► Tools You Can Trust ►Tunnel Canary ► UJ3RK5 ► UT ► V-Effect ► Von Lmo ► Y Pants I realize that I might possibly be missing a few acts, and for that I apologize. You may also see that a few bands aren’t technically from the No Wave movement, such as AKA, Friction, Tools You Can Trust, and Tunnel Canary, but some people may unofficially associate them with the movement or claim that they had the “No Wave spirit,” etc. So, I’m adding them anyways… Here is what I am going to do… I’m going to go through the entire list alphabetically. I’ll most likely cover one or two LPs, EPs, or singles (some of them didn‘t record that much). I will also give a bit of information about them as well as a photograph… Now, I realize now that locating some of the recorded material and information may be a bit problematic, but I will do the best I can. Quick note… I may end up reviewing some of the new “no wave” bands in the future, but I think I have more than enough on my plate for now. |
yes!!! If you tackle this, you are the man.
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General Information While I have yet to see a creditable source label this band as "no wave," they were a New York post-punk/art punk band that was active roughly around the same period of time that the movement was. Not much is really known about this band, though, except for the fact they featured a semi-famous artist, David Wojnarowicz, and the fact that "3/5 of the band was gay"... Not entirely sure WHY that keeps showing up every time I look for information on them, but it's something I guess. Band Members ►Doug Bressler ►Brian Butterick ►William Gerstel ►Julie Hair ►Jessie Hultberg ►David Wajnarowicz Album Review No Motive (1983) Track Listing 1. Hold Up.................................. 3:57 2. Tell Me Something Good......... 4:29 3. 5/4 ........................................ 5:52 4. Crime Drama .......................... 2:50 5. Hunt/Bean Song..................... 7:48 6. Hunger ................................... 1:58 Total Length: 26:44 No Motive, 3 Teens Kill 4's only album, isn't really what I would consider to be a "gem" of the No Wave movement, but... it's certainly a decent post-punk album. Its repertoire of sound includes that of: sampling and tape looping, synthesizers, guitar, bass, and various toys and electronics. The percussion in most of the tracks tends to be a bit uniform and typical of that of most post-punk albums, but their unique and whimsical use of toys makes up for this. The songs themselves, for the most part, tend to be catchy and sometimes safely-structured. However, tracks like "Hunger" and "Tell Me Something Good" lean away from this mentality. "Hunger" tends to be very fast-paced and electronically noisy, while "Tell Me Something Good" sort of adopts an industrial-type approach to its sound/beat. Topics range anywhere from robbery ("Hold Up") to physical appearance ("Bean Song"). I personally got some enjoyment out of listening to the album, but I really don't see myself playing it a lot in the future. Let me also point out that I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to anyone wanting to get into No Wave music; however, I would recommend it to someone who loves artsy post-punk. My Rating: 6.5/10 For those of you who managed to read through this damn thing... here is your prize: a picture of David Wojnarowicz. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ojnarowicz.jpg (Enjoy.) |
i'll probably be checking out some of the stuff you review here
been always curious about that movement |
Besides Sonic Youth and Swans none of those ring any bells with me so I look forward to having my horizons broadened.
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I'm looking forward to the rest of this. I'm already familiar with a few of the bands but there's quite a few I haven't heard.
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I am really excited for this, looks awesome so far
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Side Note # 1 Influences of the No Wave Movement ► Suicide ► The Velvet Underground ► Several avant-garde jazz/free jazz musicians, such as Sun Ra ► Krautrock bands, such as Can and Faust ► Captain Beefheart ► Protopunk bands, such as The Stooges Allow me to also inform you that it is believed that the No Wave movement took place around 1977-1980, but some say it took place around 1978-1982. It doesn't look like a considerable difference, but... trust me when I say that there is. Many of the bands didn't last very long, and many of them didn't record much. By omitting one or two years, I would possibly be dropping anywhere from ten to fifteen (maybe more, maybe fewer) bands and artists. Hell, they deny there even was a movement, so you can kind of see how vague this whole situation is... Anyways, to sort of clear up this mess, I'll begin to highlight band/artist names in red to indicate whether they were "officially" apart of the movement or not. To be specific, I'll be highlighting the acts that released/recorded material in the Lower East Side of New York City between 1978 to 1980. The other bands and artists are possibly either Pre-No Wave (which is basically just Suicide), Post-No Wave (like Swans), or bands from other areas of the world, but shared similarities/same outlook on music (like Friction and Tunnel Canary). If I am unsure, then I will just highlight it in green. |
Can't wait for the Suicide review, listened to A Way of Life for the first time recently and loved the hell out of it. Rev & Vega are geniuses.
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you aren't doing The Contortions?
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Am lookin 4ward 2 this threads development! wanted 2 explor this sub-genre ov punk 4 awhile.
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8-Eyed Spy (1979 - 1980) General Information 8-Eyed Spy was a band formed by No Wave "superstar," Lydia Lunch, and George Scott (of The Contortions). The two had known each other since 1977 and had built up some respect for one another. Shortly after Lunch recorded her solo album, Queen of Siam (1979), they decided to make a band. In an interview with David Browne in 2008, Thurston Moore claimed that once 8-Eyed Spy released their debut album in 1981, "No Wave had ended." His reason behind saying this was that they had a more conventional approach to music... which was what the "movement" was supposedly against. Their sound can be described as have elements of both art rock and punk rock (so basically you could go with either art punk or post-punk... whatever floats your boat). Band Members ► Lydia Lunch (Vocals) ► George Scott (Bass) ► Michael Paumgardhen (Guitar) ► Pat Irwin (Saxophone, Piano, Guitar, Bass) ► Jim Sclavunos (Drums) Album Review 8-Eyed Spy (1997) http://s.dsimg.com/image/R-150-703829-1149784229.jpeg Track Listing 1. Diddy Wah Diddy............ 2:19 2. Lazy in Love................... 2:57 3. Love Split....................... 2:10 4. Dead You B Side Me........ 3:39 5. Swamp............................ 0:57 6. Run Through the Jungle.. 5:26 7. Motor Oil Shanty............. 4:29 8. You Twist, I Shout........... 2:31 9. Looking for Someone....... 2:39 10. Lightning's Girl............... 3:07 11. Innocence...................... 1:24 12. Boy Meets Girl................ 1:57 13. 2 Square......................... 2:36 14. I Want Candy.................. 2:05 15. Ran Away Dark............... 1:51 Total Length: 40:07 Instead of getting their live or debut album, I decided to get their compilation, which has a bit of both. First off, let me say that you should not get discouraged by Thurston Moore's comment... There are a few No Wave-like tendencies in their music, such as in some of the guitar work and especially in Lydia Lunch's delivery of her vocals. I'll also go ahead and say that this was a decent compilation album... You can even hear the audience, which was comprised of maybe three or four people, clapping and whooping it up in some of the live tracks (yea!!!). In my opinion, their cover of "Diddy Wah Diddy" was better than both the original version and Captain Beefheart's (which was fairly boring to begin with). The combined squeal of the saxophone and Lunch's vehement, commanding voice fought through the entire song to the point where you can barely hear the piano and guitar, and yet... it's still fun to listen to. I have to say, however, that my favorite tracks on this album are "Lazy in Love" and "Motor Oil Shanty." The first being a song completely dominated by the piano and saxophone...and no guitar. Although, I think there is a banjo in the background somewhere (not entirely sure), but that's not a guitar of course. Either way, I loved Lunch's singing which is more like her yelling out spoken word poetry (this is normally how she delivers her lyrics, though). Then there is "Motor Oil Shanty," the second longest track on the album, which starts off with a funky introduction similar to that of The Contortions, but it then evolves into something more surf rock-oriented (which is possible evidence of Scott and Irwin's forming of The Raybeats). All in all, it's a very raw and loud compilation, but that is what is expected of Lydia Lunch... Lastly, due to its more accessible sound, I would probably recommend it to someone who wants an easy entry into No Wave. My Rating: 7.5/10 |
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General Information The No Wave band that wasn't quite No Wave... Bound & Gagged was formed in the late 70s in Boston, Massachusetts. They were an all-female experimental post-punk group that had befriended many of the No Wave/Post-No Wave acts, such as Bush Tetras and 8-Eyed Spy. They were also mentored by the art punk/noise rock band, The Girls. Sadly, Bound & Gagged only released one album -- an EP with only four tracks that lasts less than twelve minutes. Band Members ► Britt Britto ► Trude Koby ► Deni Ozan ► Marcia Maglione ► Wendy Stone ► Martha Sweztoff Album Review Bound & Gagged (1980) http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...flV1jD-X9eNWjc Track Listing 1. Clutter......................... 2:14 2. Chains and Polymers.... 4:03 3. Attack.......................... 1:37 4. Roach Motel ................ 3:17 Total Length: 11:11 Well, there really isn't too much to say about this EP. It's not necessarily groundbreaking or amazing, but it certainly isn't terrible. Most of the songs are comprised of Eve Libertine-esque vocals, repetitive guitar work, mediocre drumming, and the dancing sound of a Farfisa organ. The only song that sort of got my attention was "Clutter," which didn't stick to the same damn repetitiveness that is featured throughout the rest of the album. It actually evolves a bit in sound as the track progresses, unlike "Roach Motel" and "Chains and Polymers." It's really too bad they were cut short with just releasing this EP... I'm sure they could have improved a lot more if they stuck to it. Anyways, I don't really hate this album, but I don't see myself listening to it anytime soon. On the bright side... the organ is a bit fun to listen to. Heh... My Rating: 5.5/10 |
I remember reading somewhere Lydia Lunch hated being in 8-Eyed Spy.
Shame if it's true I always liked them. |
So far so good. I have enjoyed all the no wave stuff I have listened to. "No New York" comp is great, as are the "NY No Wave" comps.. and others.
So far DNA and Mars have been my most listened to, looking forward to what you hve to say on them. Thanks for this, appreciated. |
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Wow! I'm new to MB and the last thing I expected to see was a No Wave thread! Bravo! I'm a huge James Chance and the Contortions / James White and the Blacks fan.
James scream in "Contort Yourself" is brilliant! |
Bush Tetras (1979 - 1983; 1995 - 1998; 2006 - Present) General Information Bush Tetras was a post-punk/dance-punk group formed in 1979. Some consider it directly apart of the No Wave movement, while others say it wasn't. One of their members was Pat Place, who was a founding member of the Contortions as well as their lead guitarist, which is probably why Bush Tetras is in the grey area of No Wave. Band Members Cynthia Sley (Vocals) Pat Place (Guitar) Laura Kennedy (Bass) Dee Pop (Drums) Album Reviews Too Many Creeps (1980) http://ts3.mm.bing.net/images/thumbn...bushtetras.jpg Track Listing 1. Too Many Creeps................ 4:02 2. Snakes Crawl....................... 3:36 3. You Taste Like the Tropics.. 1:31 Total Length: 9:09 Allow me to say that this was a pretty fun EP to listen to... and this is coming from someone who doesn't like most dance-type music. The first song, "Too Many Creeps," is probably their most famous one. There's not much to it except a basic post-punk beat, monotonous bass work, and occasional quasi-noisy guitar riffs, and yet... it still kicks ass. The next song, "Snakes Crawl," has a few similarities to the No Wave "sound" (if there even is one), although it's mainly in Pat Place's semi-unconventional approach to her guitar playing. You can definitely hear a bit of The Contortions' influence in this track... Lastly, there's the third song, "You Taste Like the Tropics," which has very punkish lyrics that flows along side repetitive, unchanging music. Of course, it's only a minute and a half long, so it's not expected to evolve too much. It cuts off at an usual point, too, which wasn't what I was expecting (then again, I'm sure that was their intent). All in all, this is a very funk-driven E.P. It's fun to listen to, and I would definitely suggest it to someone who wants to get into post-punk. Doesn't have a lot of No Wave tendencies, though. My Rating: 7/10 Rituals (1981) http://ts2.mm.bing.net/images/thumbn...fbush%2btetras Track Listing 1. Can't Be Funky.............. 2:40 2. Funky (Instrumental).. 2:41 3. Cowboys in Africa....... 2:51 4. Rituals......................... 3:54 Total Length: 12:06 This EP is a bit less funky than their previous one. "Can't Be Funky" and its instrumental are pretty much the only ones that exhibit any sort of funk-driven sound. The only difference between the two tracks, however, is that the instrumental omits Sley's vocals and adds a piano at the beginning of the song and sparse saxophone throughout the rest. The only funky aspect of the next song, "Cowboys in Africa," is the bass playing (or at least, I thought it was funky). Other than that, it uses simple, distorted guitar riffs, a little more developed percussion (but only a little), and an almost Ian Curtis-like delivery of the vocals. Lastly, there's "Rituals," which is a very slow-tempo post-punk song. There's just something so... badass (I guess that would be the best term to use) about the way this song flows... Maybe it's the Western-like vibe of the guitar or the small inclusion of the piano in the background (which is mainly just hitting the 'G' note over and over again). Anyways, I liked this EP as well. I would recommend you check out the other one before moving onto this one, though. My Rating: 7/10 Quick note... I'm sort of ripping off of Wikipedia when I say this, but the only characteristics of this band that really "stand-out" to me are Cynthia Sley's singing and Pat Place's guitar work. Everything else is just... boring and not very unique. Personally, I feel I am being a bit too generous by giving both of the EPs 7/10, but I guess I'm letting my own bias of liking the songs get in the way of giving them lower scores (oh well). |
Bush Tetras are a pretty good band. I discovered them a while back in Gavin B's journal (where the hell is he these days by the way?) and I grew to like their funky brand of NY post-punk. While they're not a proper no-wave band the influence is definitely there, especially in Pat's guitar playing and the feeling it gives to some of the songs. They actually have a lot more material than those two EPs, you can get their entire catalog collected in their Boom In The Night compilation.
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General Information Circle X, a criminally overlooked act of the No Wave movement, was a post-punk/noise rock/art rock band that was formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1978. Originally, Circle X's name was simply meant to be a symbol -- a circle with an x inside (kind of obvious), but it had to be changed into proper lettering enable to label the band's name and album without any difficulty. I'm not entirely sure why they chose that name... They were fairly rebellious people, and they were just about anti-everything…. Anti-mainstream labels, anti-independent labels, anti-professionalism, anti-classicism, and probably a bunch of other stuff… So, perhaps they felt the need to rebel and reject a proper name for their band? Band Members ► Bruce Witsiepe ► Tony Pinotti ► Dave Letendre ► Rik Latendre Album Review Prehistory One (1983) http://static.rateyourmusic.com/albu...10b/153269.jpg Track Listing 1. Current................... 6:22 2. Prehistory (Part I)..... 5:12 3. Prehistory (Part II).... 5:17 4. Culture Progress....... 6:32 5. Underworld.............. 7:55 6. Beyond Standard...... 4:35 Total Length: 35:53 When I first listened to this album, I was vacuuming around the house. The mixture of the album's music and the vehement roar of the vacuum cleaner gave birth to a somewhat loud ambiance (if that even makes any sense). I'll admit that it didn't really catch my attention at first, and I soon became a bit disheartened by the idea of writing a review for yet ANOTHER uninteresting album. Fortunately, I gave it another listen... and by just sitting down and listening to it I was able to differentiate the sounds better. Noisy albums tend to do that... They demand your full attention enable for you to fully appreciate and digest it. Anyways... in comparison to the previous releases that I have reviewed on this thread... this one, so far, is the best. There is so much going on in this album... The sometimes "sloppy" polyrhythmic (invented a word) percussion, various noisy guitar parts going on at once, babies squealing, power tools being turned on, psychedelic-like electronics occasionally entering in and out of a piece, vocals ranging anywhere from a scratchy and unintelligible yell to just a deadpan voice, and so much more... Strangely enough, this album can be pretty mellow and sometimes psychedelic with its intermittent sparse instrumentation and echoey vocals and electronics (or keyboards... not entirely sure what it is). All in all, this is an almost brilliant album... It is strongly recommended for those who wish to explore a bit more into the No Wave movement. Also, I would recommend you listen to their self-titled EP, which was released in 1979. My Rating: 9/10 |
officially my favorite thread :)
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Though this might interest you Jack. A movie documentary based on the No Wave movement. I'm certain you've probably seen it but just in case. http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1884863232/tt1398949 |
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