Social Climbers - Social Climbers (1981)

Got a non sequitur from New York's No Wave scene for you guys today. The more ardent followers of this blog might recognize this band's song "Hello Texas" as being featured on the first volume of Homework. Really bizarre and tangential lyrics and singing with some thick synths and other fun instruments that come together to form a formless meandering mess of an album. I of course mean that in a good way, out of the mess comes this impressionistic variegated psuedo-drone a-la A.R. Kane or The Fall. Very unique and overlooked album from the scene.

Back to when I was a teenager
Lusting for life I'd see you in those magazine

Your scrawny body laid out on some cheesy rug
In some slimy studio in Midtown Manhattan

Various Artists - Peripheral Vision (1982)

Obscure and delicious no wave compilation released around the time the scene was coming to a close. Features some great acts like Mofungo and the highly underrated The Scene is Now. A few of the bands on this albums definitely have a more avant-proggy feel and offers a different, but still just as interesting view of what was going on in NYC in the 80s.

I looked out in the day and the days not there
I looked out in the night and the nights not there

Various Artists - Red Spot (1981)

Super overlooked comp from Subterranean Records can take care of all of your minimal wave and no wave needs. Super dark and super gritty, there's not really too much to dislike about this comp. It even has a rare Minimal Man track! Definitely worth checking out.

You have a forcefield
And a tracking beam
You pull me to you
With curiosity

Various Artists - Homework #10 DIY/postpunk/No Wave/experimental: ABC '79-89

Alright! I finally got the comps! I don't think they really even need any kind of introduction at this point, so here you go!

Volume 10

Xeerox ‎– 1979 - 1981 Recuerdo Espectral De Un Viejo Decorado Eléctrico (2008)

Now this is a fascinating album. A while back I (fruitlessly) searched for some underground albums from Spain. I decided to give it another shot recently and I found this album along with a few other gems that I might share in the future. This comp is heavily influences by the No Wave scene going on in New York at the time. It has a really weird and hypnotic quality to it thanks to its incredibly muffled and hectic guitars and great use of backmasking. In short, it's unlike any No Wave album I've heard before and I highly recommend it.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Fahrenheit 451 - Fahrenheit 451 (1981)

Cool post-punk single from the Netherlands. The single consists of 4 super short lofi jams with some nice frantic singing to boot. The Dutch band certainly seems like they were influenced by the no wave scene going on in New York at the time. All in all it's a cool single, I'd recommend it to any post-punk or no wave junkies.

sorry about the quality

Circle X - Prehistory (1983)

Another great release from Circle X, this one is basically a more refined version of Untitled, but don't let that discourage you. Prehistory is also way more post-punk influenced than their debut EP. It's still very chaotic, but in a much more organized way, if that makes any sense. In my (oh so humble) opinion this album is better than Untitled, so it's definitely worth checking out if you liked that, but it's also worth checking out if you thought Untitled was too harsh, as this one is a tad bit more ~tame~ for lack of a better word.

-unintelligible screams-

Circle X - Untitled (1979)

Abrasive, loud, irate no wave. Circle X is almost like a cross between early Swans and Mars. It's also deceptively catchy, despite its violent sound. This EP basically consists of frantic, angry vocals over deliciously scratchy and chaotic instrumentation, all with a steady, pulsing drum in the background. Highly recommend this one for fans of no wave.

ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
MARCHING AS TO WAR

Bound & Gagged - Bound & Gagged (1980)

Great bouncy, angular, female fronted post-punk, quasi-no wave almost. That pretty much summed up the EP in one sentence though it doesn't quite do it justice. There's a name for this genre of music I found out about a few months ago: "zolo" though I don't really know exactly what it means. Either way the album is super catchy, super hyper, super fun. Definitely worth a listen.

I WISH I COULD BE FREE
OF CHAINS AND POLYMERS

Inflatable Boy Clams - Inflatable Boy Clams (1981)

What a curious record. Inflatable Boy Clams was an all-female quasi-no wave band from San Francisco. Had they actually been in the scene at the time they would have fit in perfectly. It's a weird little EP, imagine a cuter and all-female version of the early Sun City Girls stuff, then you kinda get an idea for this album. It's really minimal, basically just spoken word for some of the tracks. The album has a real kind of distinctive candid and grim feeling to it. Really a fantastic album, definitely worth checking out.

See my grotesque grin
I smile for youuuUUUU

The Del-Byzanteens - Lies to Live By (1982)

Fun, catchy, upbeat no wave from 1982. One of the absolute catchiest albums I've heard out of the scene, it's entertaining and energetic and just never gets old. It's really exceptionally upbeat by no wave standards, but still manages to have this kind of caustic-industrial-waste sound that makes it so memorable, but a kind of well-produced-caustic-industrial-waste sound, it's very interesting. Only problem the album has, which it seems to share with a lot of albums of the time for some reason, is that it just seems order all the tracks in a way that all the best tracks are at the very beginning, leaving the album to get progressively more ehhh toward the end. Still a great EP though, without a doubt. Definitely an album to check out, even if you're not a huge fan of no wave, the album is pretty accessible in my opinion.

I DON'T HAPPENED
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE ASKING ME FOR
IS THAT ALL THAT HAPPENED
ADD IT UP AND THERE OUGHT TO BE MORE

Various Artists - Não Wave (2005)

Real great post-punk compilation out of Brazil. As the title implies, all of the artists on this album sound very reminiscent of artists out of the no wave scene in New York, which was going on at the same time. It has a lot of the manic, deconstructive themes that no wave artists had, but with its own little Brazilian flair added on top. Great comp, essential for fans of post-punk or no wave.

Se o mundo explodir em pedaços outra vez
Please come back
Please come back

Alternative TV - Vibing Up the Senile Man (Part One) (1979)

This is a real different post-punk album, incredibly dark and dissonant, even by post-punk's standards. It has a really bleak, frozen atmosphere to it, its quite haunting in fact. If you like hearing the panicked shouts of British men though, this is definitely the album for you, the fourth track is a cold, sort of spoken word story which breaks down into chaos at the end, it's an incredible track. It's a real foreboding yet mesmerizing album, I highly recommend it to someone who's a fan of No Wave, even though it isn't from the scene, it bears a striking resemblance.

But the terror is in your radio
The terror is in your radio-o-o

Family Fodder - Playing Golf (With My Flesh Crawling) / My Baby Takes Valium (1979) and Boris Policeband - Stereo / Mono (1979)

Other than the year they were released these two singles have nothing in common. It's just that I'd just feel bad if I dedicated an entire post to just one single

Good ol' Family Fodder. This is their first release, a fantastic, synthetic, scrambled post-punk single. It's a lot less clean and sharp than their later releases. But a fantastic single nonetheless. Great songwriting, catchy and adorable instrumentals, it's an all-around great single really.

I'm so happy with my life
Theres times I feel fungus growing on me

Now this is a real hidden no wave gem. The album is basically a critique of New York police in the late 70's. And it's done in such an interesting manner. The single consists of a bunch of very short, noisy, spoken word songs. It's almost like a really early power electronics album. Just noisy, demented, and raw. The album is so to-the-point. It's like a deliberate and organized kind of chaos, which is incredibly interesting. The album is a hypnotic subterranean gem.

Yeah I know the beat
Full of surprises
Don't feel safe on these streets with just a gun, a fuzzbox, and a stick
My wife can't sleep

Various Artists - New York Noise Vol 1, 2 and 3 (2003, 2005, 2006)

The New York Noise trilogy. These three compilation albums, ironically enough published by a London-based label, are definitely the best albums to showcase New York's infamous No Wave scene, a kind of sarcastic deconstruction of New Wave, which was insanely popular at the time. This album really shows a different side to No Wave though. It wasn't as one-dimensional as some people seem to imagine. There was more to No Wave than just Swans or DNA, there was another side, seemingly influenced by disco and funk, just as crazy and spastic as a lot of other No Wave, and this comp does an amazing job tying everything together. There are more danceable tracks, there are songs more in the style of DNA (hell there's even a DNA track or two on these comps), and interestingly enough there are even some pretty early Hip Hop tracks on here. It's amazing how these albums manage to bring Post-Punk, No Wave, and Hip Hop all together seamlessly. The whole album is energetic, spastic, and crazy. It perfectly sums up No Wave, and it's pretty much an essential listen for fans of the scene, or even for people who want to get into No Wave, there's no better entry point than this in my opinion.

Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3

Lemon Kittens - We Buy Hammers for Daddy (1980)

Lemon Kittens were a really far-out Post-Punk who emerged from Reading in the 80's. The duo is really just all over the place on this album, ranging from bombastic and hyper tracks to song that are more slow and morbid. It definitely seems to me that these guys were influences by the No Wave scene going on in New York at the time. I also pick up an early-industrial kind of sound, which is great to see because I can't actually think of too much Industrial Post-Punk groups. They're like the bastard child of Throbbing Gristle and Y Pants, I mean that in the best way possible. Intriguing, unique, spastic, and demented, overall this is a really solid album that can do nothing but grow on you over time.

And we take time to dance
Meaninglessly

Y Pants - Beat It Down (1982)

Y Pants were a short lived No Wave trio from New York City (obviously), they weren't that much like a lot of their other, more successful, contemporaries, such as Swans, who were dark and violent. This all-female group made No Wave that was more choppy and more bouncy than a lot of other acts, almost blurring the line between Post-Punk and No Wave. They basically made cute, fun No Wave, which is something a lot of people don't seen know about, they don't seem to know that No Wave wasn't all just angry, brooding music like Mars or DNA, but there was also a brighter, almost Disco-influenced side to the scene. And this album shows off that side of the No Wave movement quite well. They still have the dark undertones and almost satirical parodying of New Wave in the songwriting that's characteristic of No Wave (the last song on this LP is one of the darkest songs I've heard as of late) but on the surface they just appear very happy and carefree. It's cheerful and adorable No Wave that can be dark and hypnotic at the exact same time, and an album like that is definitely worth a listen.

Got this feeling for you
Got this feeling for you
Got this feeling for you
Gonna beat it down