No New York is a compilation album of no wave music released in 1978 by record label Antilles under the curation of producer Brian Eno. Although it only contains songs by four different artists, it has been considered important in defining and documenting the scene and movement, with the name "no wave" being influenced by that of the album according to some accounts.[1][2]
When Eno recorded No New York, some of the sessions were done without much of the stylized production he was known for on other artists' albums.[6]James Chance stated that the Contortions tracks were "done totally live in the studio, no separation between the instruments, no overdubs, just like a document."[6] In 1979, Eno stated in his lecture "The Studio as Compositional Tool" that, "On 'Helen Thormdale' [sic] from the No New York album, I put an echo on the guitar part's click, and used that to trigger the compression on the whole track, so it sounds like helicopter blades."[7]
Release
No New York was released in 1978 by Antilles Records.[8] The original pressing of the LP contained a lyric sheet that was intentionally printed on the inside of the record sleeve, which forced the owner to have to tear apart the sleeve to read the lyrics.[9][10] The album was first reissued on CD by Island Records in Japan.[11] It was reissued in 2005 by Lilith Records on vinyl and digipak form on CD.[12][13]
Critic Richard C. Walls, writing for Creem, described No New York as the most "ferociously avant-garde and aggressively ugly music since Albert Ayler puked all over my brain back in – what? – 64" and stated "If you're intrepid enough to want to hear this stuff (a friend, 3/4 into the first side, complained that the music was painful – she wasn't referring to any abstract reaction, she was grimacing), be advised that Antilles is a division of Island Records, which ain't exactly Transamerica Corp. You'll probably have to make a little effort to procure it, because there's no way it's going to come to you."[9]
On February 17, 1979, Pete Silverton of Sounds reviewed the album, excerpt: "'NO WAVE' is the rather unoriginal tag given to a loose group of new bands which have emerged in New York since the original CBGB's explosion [...] To date the best-known No Wave artefact is the No New York compilation on Antilles, the Island subsidiary, which contains hasty sessions of four bands — DNA, the Contortions, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and Mars. I spoke to three of the bands and they all thought the album sucked and that producer Eno should have stayed home. Nor have any of them got much time for the No New tag itself. As James Chance of the Contortions growled with beautifully weedy menace, "I wish I could get my hand on whoever made it up".[17]
No New York is mentioned on the back cover of the Fall's 1979 studio album Dragnet.
Retrospective reviews of the album have been positive. Todd Kristel of AllMusic stated that "this seminal album remains the definitive document of New York's no wave movement", but also echoed Walls's statement from 1978, saying, "Some listeners may be fascinated by the music on No New York while others may find it unbearable".[8]
In 2007, Blender placed the album at number 65 on their list of "The 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever".[18]
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