No Waves

Calling this 'No Waves' suggests a symbolic sympatico bond between the duo, best evidenced by the graceful way that Gordon and Nace hone in on controlling this beautiful racket with apparent ease.

You've got the novelty of a live album that borders on essential. [Jan 2017, p.104]

Rather than trying to replicate their off-the-cuff studio performances onstage, Gordon and Nace treat the songs as rough outlines for further improvisation, to be colored in as the musicians please.

Though Body/Head reject the notion of definitive versions of their songs, No Waves might be the album that captures their spirit to its fullest. Equally taut and flowing, this is improvisation at its instinctive best.

A radical reinterpretation of the material that expands and adapts it using inspired improvisation and healthy doses of feedback. The songs are all the better for it, with added shades of emotion and fury oozing through every chord and squeal.

Your reaction to No Waves--a titular nod to the extra-confrontational New York City punk-rock offshoot of the late-’70s--likely depends on your tolerance for passages of grinding noise and musical experimentation for its own sake. If that’s your thing, Gordon and Nace power their way through this 35-ish minute set with impressive ardor, and no shortage of ability.

No Waves stands as a memorable document on its own and a hopeful harbinger for new material to come.

As a live snapshot, No Waves is largely successful and further contributes to the artistic mini-renaissance that Gordon is experiencing as of late.

It lacks the thrill of seeing Nace stalk the stage, balancing Gordon’s cool command with understated menace, let alone the body English each needs to exercise to procure the sounds that they get out of their guitars. It also lacks the contrasting spectacle of the experimental films that the duo often projects upon the rear wall of the hall. What you get instead is a slightly murky recording that filters their outsize rain of blows and ends up conveying solid representation rather than out-of-body transcendence.