Contortions - Buy (Album Review)

 

Contortions - Buy

(1979)


My copy: 2022 reissue by Superior Viaduct.


James Chance (born James Siegfried) finally committed the openly violent sound of the Contortions to a debut full-length in 1979. Chance had something that most of his fellow no-wave pioneers lacked: actual training in jazz music from before he lived in the downtrodden wastes that made up New York City in the late 70s. 

Guitars rattle and kick down doors on “Design To Kill” while the bass and drums stay firmly rooted in a funk-oriented groove that maintains a level of catchiness. The interplay between Chance’s rasping saxophone and the atonal fidgeting of Jody Harris and Pat Place’s guitars are a key component of the album’s charm. “My Infatuation” sees the rhythm section channel foot stomping rock-and-roll while the surrounding discordant tones warp the track into a painting of a dystopian future; the sax plays positive melodies but in such a manic fashion that it feels overtly nihilistic. 

Anxiety-inducing keys are added to “I Don’t Want To Be Happy,” another collage of dissonance in which the bass is the main melodic factor. “Anesthetic” manipulates the usually romantic ¾ time into a ghastly waltz punctuated by spectral guitar prickles. Chance’s vocals range from schizophrenic wails to calculated proclamations of hatred: there is a clear James Brown influence although Chance’s take is far more dramatic to the point that it can border on eye-rolling. 

“Contort Yourself” is a furious rapid fire of bass and drums with stark guitar jangles that float beside roaring sax solos. “Contort Yourself” is a highlight for it’s hellish call and response section that concludes with a shriek so piercing you’d mistake Chance for a victim of torture.  Infectious bass continues into “Throw Me Away” which carries the most traditional sounding sax melodies before the whole band ascends through a frenzy of scales. 

“Roving Eye” is bouncy and features the only traditional sounding guitar solo that seems to channel Zappa. Jazz influence works into the sly, cooler drum beat of “Twice Removed” where the freakish guitar and sax sound as if they are carrying a conversation in a foreign language. Churning, fiery instrumentals kick off closer “Bedroom Athlete” before the song tours differing tempos and a 5/4 time change. 

Chance’s psychotic raving is a key component and it’s no wonder that fights often broke out between Chance and audience members. The sound of the Contortions is that of a man who is undoubtedly full of himself, and yet who is also on to something that is uniquely his own. Buy is a brutalist collage of at times self-absorbed noodling, but with an atmosphere so rich that it feels like one of the last true windows into the desperation felt by NYC’s short-lived no-wave generation. 

This 2022 reissue is still widely available.


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