New Wave Trio Ut Gets Reissued

Remember when it was, like, totally OK to be a woman and weird and onstage and powerful? We don't always, either, so we're lucky that Mute Records/Blast First is reminding us. On October 3, they'll treat U.S. audiences to re-releases of two classic records from unconventional, monosyllabic, all-female no wave trio Ut: In Gut's House (1988) and Griller (1989).

Like Venus from the waves or dandelions from a sidewalk crack, Ut sprang from the New York no wave scene (alongside Teenage Jesus, James Chance, DNA, et al) in December of 1978. Nina Canal, Jacqui Ham, and Sally Young (who sound like wind tunnels, squeaking, and deconstructed guitar) finally parted ways after a swan song Paris gig in March 1990, but not before leaving their mark-- particularly in the UK, where the band was better received in its day.

Until now, you could really only find Ut (1) name-checked in Le Tigre's "Hot Topic", (2) pried from a record store clerk's cold, dead hands, or (3) on some insanely long list of every band Steve Albini has ever worked with (dude engineered Griller, see). Pretty soon they'll be everywhere, and by "everywhere," we mean rocking your very own home stereo.

Of course, little raccoons, there are still plenty of Ut un-releases or rare releases to scavenge (try Early Live Life or Conviction). No word on reissues of those records yet, but for now, we're just stoked to see these three getting some of the recognition they deserve.

In Gut's House:

01 Evangelist
02 I.D.
03 Swallow
04 Big Wing
05 Hotel
06 Homebled
07 Shut Fog
08 Mosquito Botticelli
09 Dirty Net
10 Landscape

Griller:

01 Safe Burning
02 How It Goes
03 Canker
04 Rummy
05 Posse Necks
06 Fuel
07 Wailhouse
08 Scrape
09 Spore
10 Griller
11 Dr. No