''No Waves'' is a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

duo

Body/Head Body/Head are an American experimental electric guitar duo composed of Kim Gordon and Bill Nace. They began working together in 2011 in Massachusetts, but the Body/Head concept evolved more specifically in early 2012. Their debut album, '' Coming ...

and was released on

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...

on November 11, 2016. Recorded during a performance at the Big Ears Festival in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, the album features improvised versions of material taken from the duo's first studio album '' Coming Apart'' and the

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

"The Show Is Over". It continues the project's trend of rejecting traditional musical structures and utilizing various methods of distorting their sound.

Background

In 2013, Body/Head received high-praise for the free

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

and improvisation found on their debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Coming Apart'', which drew comparisons to early releases by

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...

's former band,

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

. At the time the material on ''No Waves'' was recorded, the duo was performing live at the Bijou Theater for the 2014 Big Ears Festival in

to promote the release of ''Coming Apart''. Since the project formed in 2012, Body/Head has only arranged a limited touring schedule, making the album a rare glimpse into the act's live prowess. Guitarist

Bill Nace Bill Nace is an American experimental guitarist from New Jersey. Nace has collaborated with Joe McPhee, Steve Gunn, Thurston Moore, Yoko Ono, Okkyung Lee, and Kim Gordon. With Gordon, Nace is part of the experimental electric guitar duo Body/Hea ...

explained in an interview for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine that the album's good sound-quality resulted from "microphones on the amps, not post-production whitewashing". He added "this particular raw mix had a certain character that held together as a whole". The three tracks on ''No Waves'' have all previously appeared on past Body/Head releases, albeit in different structural forms: "The Show Is Over" is the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of a

distributed in 2014, and "Abstract Actress" is a medley of the two ''Coming Apart'' songs. Music critic Andy Cush notes that, rather than attempting to replicate their studio work, the duo "treat the songs as rough outlines for further improvision, to be colored in as the musicians please". The duo is following the release of ''No Waves'' with a brief four-date tour in the US.

Track listing

#"Sugar Water" - 7:48 #"The Show Is Over" - 8:31 #"Abstract/Actress" - 23:39

References

{{Reflist 2016 live albums Body/Head albums