DNA A Taste of DNA

New York's DNA have had a massive effect on alternative / indie rock around the world, despite the trio never releasing a full-length studio album during their four year tenure (1978-82). Various groups citing them as an influence have included Sonic Youth, Boredoms, Big Black and Blonde Redhead (the latter taking their name from DNA's most-famous song). While the band's explosive live performances captivated audiences, extant recordings captured DNA's dynamic sound and savage economy in songwriting.


Originally released in 1981, A Taste Of DNA remains a primary source for No Wave archaeologists. Singer/guitarist Arto Lindsay and drummer Ikue Mori are joined by bassist and Pere Ubu founding-member Tim Wright. Across the EP's six anti-epic tracks, the band charges forward with jagged guitars and dislocated grooves, while Lindsay's guttural screams create a thoroughly personal semantics.


As Marc Masters writes in the liner notes, "A Taste Of DNA has a kind of sum-of-parts insanity, wherein every musical element sounds conventionally off, like puzzle pieces purposefully jammed together at the wrong ends."


This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of The Contortions' Buy and Red Crayola's The Parable Of Arable Land.