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
Such a great record, I was checking some early Y Records releases on Discogs and the name "Y Pants" came up for some reason, a name I instantly remembered as their sound was (as you say), very different from the No-Wave scene and didn't really fit in either the avant-garde/noise camp of Lydia Lunch/DNA or the more funk-orientated nexus of James Chance/ESG (though Glenn Branca did produce their debut EP and film-maker/photographer Barbara Ess was a member so they were hardly outsiders in that scene).
ReplyDeleteActually, they sound closest to more European bands like The Raincoats, Kleenex and what I imagine the Slits would have sounded like without the dub influences.
I seem to remember seeing them back in the early eighties here in England, perhaps on an early Swans or Sonic Youth tour, though I must admit, that period is a little hazy these days, so could be wrong.
Many thanks for posting the album, must be thirty years plus since I heard it.
Broken links
ReplyDeleteupdated! sorry about the wait
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