‘Contort Yourself’ is probably the best-known track by the band.
James Chance was alternatively known as James White, though neither of those are his real name. He was also in the short-lived band Teenage Jesus and the Jerks with Lydia Lunch, which outfit was influential in New York City’s downtown ‘no wave’ scene.
I call this noise pop, and I love it. Also see bIG fLAME, Silver Daggers etc.
I’m not an expert of that time & genre though.Well, the basswork and rhythm there are 100% post-punk, which was on its short-lived ascent at the moment. However, the punky sax, guitars and vocal are doing their own thing, true to the no-wave genre that brought atonal and dissonant experimentation into rock.
Jazz experiments were big in the ‘downtown scene’ of NYC back then, and in particular John Zorn rose up in that environment in the early 80s.
‘Noise pop’ kinda implies a variation on noise-rock, which is somewhat different and is a topic for another day — although apparently both Sonic Youth and Swans emerged from this scene too.
