In the past I have delved extensively into No Wave music, one of my favorite American musick genres. Ikue Mori & Arto Lindsay of band DNA, James Chance / White / Black, Lydia Lunch / Teenage Jesus…these are some creative souls that have enriched my musical life a great deal.
No Wave was born in the lofts & walk-ups of late 70s / early 80s downtown New York City. The name came about as reaction to the term new wave. At the tail end of the 70s the record industry was trying to rebrand punk & labeled the more pop-punk bands that came in the aftermath of punk as new wave. The No Wave bands wanted to reject this pop side but they also felt no affinity to punk. They were committed to tearing down convention in the rift between sound, music, & art. One band I never posted before (but am remedying right now) is the great UT.
UT formed in 1978, after Peter Gordon introduced Sally Young & Jacqui Ham to ex-Gynaecologists / ex-Dark Day member Nina Canal. The female presence in No Wave was never that rare. There were very few No Wave bands that represented the standard-issue 'guys/guitars' formula of rock music. However, an all-girl outfit was a slightly rarer proposition. But then, UT are an exceptional band. They really came into their own as the survivors of the original scene, the torch-bearers who took the original discordant aggressive attack onward to the next generation, especially on Griller, which was engineered by Steve Albini.
UT developed a distinctly dark sound based on free improvisation & spontaneous song writing. As with many No Wave bands, UT lacked a strong grounding in musical training, which they intentionally accentuated by changing instrumentation on each song. These methodological approaches channeled the raw energy of UT's song writing process into their live performances & finished songs (example: on "Confidential" Sally sings & plays guitar, Jacqui plays guitar, & Nina plays drums; on "Phoenix" Sally sings & plays guitar, Nina plays guitar, & Jacqui plays drums; & on "Absent Farmer Jacqui sings & plays guitar, Nina plays guitar, & Sally plays drums...& that's just in the first four songs!!!).
UT left the US in 1981 to tour with The Fall & eventually settled in London, releasing a number of albums, playing & recording until they disbanded in 1990. After a pause from 1991 to 2010, UT is back doing live dates.
Side 1 –
Confidential
Sick
Phoenix
Absent Farmer
Side 2 –
Stain
Prehistory
Bedouin
Kcahsmahs (Spare Coconut)
Mouse Sleep
Bonus track – shamshacK (Tunococ Eraps)
UT - Early Live Life, Blast First BFFP12, 1987.
Side 1 –
Fire in Philadelphia
Brink over Chicken
Surgery
Ampheta Speak
While I Wait
Mouse Sleep
Sharp’s Loose
Side 2 –
This Bliss
No Manifesto
Feed
Limbo
UT - In Gut’s House 2x45rpm LP, Blast First BFFP17, 1987.
Side 1 –
Evangelist
ID
Swallow
Side 2 –
Big Wing
Hotel
Side 3 –
Homebleed
Shut Fog
Side 4 –
Mosquito Botticelli
Dirty Net
Landscape
UT – Griller, Blast First BFFP36LP, 1989.
Side One –
Safe Burning
How it Goes
Canker
Rummy
Posse Necks
Side Two –
Wailhouse
Spore
Griller
Dr. No
Enjoy,
NØ
Enjoy,
NØ