![]() ![]() DNA deftly incorporated keys, and wrote some truly angry shit. The Jesus Lizard and other bands like them really took this to heart a decade later. Mars were one of the first truly noisy bands to use bass primarily as a melodic anchor, allowing everything else to swell chaotically around it. Mars – Complete Studio Recordings NYC 1977-78Ī lot punkier than TJATJ, but Mars’ disdain for conventional song structure is clear. This release is also important for introducing the world to Lydia Lunch, whose storied solo career warrants an entire article of its own. The vocals are phenomenal, when there are any. “Orphans” could act as a definitive introduction to the sound. Here are some of the essentials:Ĭlangy, repetitive, chaotic, beautiful. It was also tragically short-lived, but some modern bands are still really into aping its aesthetic, to varying degrees of success. It lent itself especially well to dark lyrical topics. Typically based out of New York City, no wave bands eschewed punk’s simplicity in favor of atonality, arrhythmicity and abrasion. One could make the case that some of the more abrasive psych rock bands of the late ‘60s paved the way for this whole thing, (Captain Beefheart, et al) but I personally think that’s a bit of a reach. No wave is arguably where the whole thing started. That means no Big Black, no Rapeman, and… actually, basically just no Steve Albini. But this list serves not just as an introduction to one of the strangest musical developments of the late 20th century, but a guide to some of its more challenging, and ultimately rewarding, creations. There are also bands that I’m not including that I’m certain purists will tell you are absolutely essential. There will be some obvious overlaps between bands often considered straight “noise” here too that are included for posterity. I haven’t included a lot of the poppier material that gets labelled as such, (Pissed Jeans, Dope Body, Karp, etc.) and am sticking mostly to the more abrasive stuff. Robert Christgau used to call it “pigfuck,” which is why I don’t listen to Robert Christgau.įor our purposes, when we talk about “noise rock,” we’re thinking of material that embraces the first half of the phrase rather than the latter. But we must work with the vocabulary we’re given, and attempts to get more specific usually wind up confusing the matter. Just like “noise” proper, the term could easily apply to thousands of different sounds. “Noise rock” is perhaps the laziest genre descriptor, like, ever.
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