TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS: S/T CD

Lydia Lunch walked into a rehearsal space in 1977 New York with a guitar she barely knew how to play and proceeded to invent noise rock by sheer force of contempt. Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were not a band so much as a confrontation, and this self-titled collection is the document of that confrontation.

No Wave was always more of a refusal than a genre, a rejection of punk's own orthodoxies before they'd even calcified. Teenage Jesus sat at its serrated edge, all scraping strings, minimalist skronk, and Lunch's vocal delivery pitched somewhere between a sermon and an indictment. This CD collects the band's essential recordings, including the legendary Lust for Life EP and Brian Eno-produced No New York contributions, making it the definitive place to start if your relationship with dark alternative music runs deeper than the surface. Essential listening for anyone whose shelves hold Throbbing Gristle next to DNA next to early Birthday Party.

CD format. Compilation of studio recordings from the No Wave era, 1977-1980.

Fans of: DNA, Mars, The Contortions, Swans, early Nick Cave, Glenn Branca