Since no wave happened after punk hit, does that mean that it’s a sub-genre of post-punk? And is post-punk a sub-genre of punk or does it stand on its own? Assuming that each is interrelated, no-wave is a kind of post-punk, which is part of punks development. So that means that I’m a dithering idiot for having thought that through.

What made me think of all this was the fact that TV Ghost’s been referred to alternately as no-wave and post punk. But with that latter moniker being bestowed on Pere Ubu and the like, who were performing prior to Sire Records snatching up as many punk groups as possible and accidently turning the music into a ‘thing,’ it’s all just a confusing, nonsensical mess. And in mentioning that Cleveland band, it’s important to note the ensemble’s ability to evoke the sea – even when David Thomas isn’t talking about drunken sailors. It’s in the portions of Ubu’s songs that prominently feature a skewed tempo or inverted rhythm that makes the band’s catalog read in this manner. But in figuring that, it should be noted that TV Ghost occasionally gets into that same musical space.

On the group’s first full length album, entitled Cold Fish, the band works in ten tracks at just under twenty five minutes. Do the math. Yeah, the disc is made up primarily of short blasts of noise that most folks would deem obnoxious, but during “Seasick” TV Ghost gets into that evasive territory. The lurching keyboard being locked into the rhythm section here does a body good. Its slowed down tempo does the band good as the quick step noise mongering grates listeners nerves after a bit. It’s not all quite as poetic as Ubu and Thomas, but the fact that “Seasick” evoked that connection should be nothing short of complimentary to the group.

Elsewhere, TV Ghost runs through some of the more standard approaches to noisome punk. There’s the keyboard drone on “The Recluse” that’s accompanied by some decent, skronky guitar stuffs. Including the healthful dose of echo actually raises the track a bit beyond what it’d be otherwise. But the middle section of the album really proves too thin to engage listeners – even if it all transpires over a short amount of time.

Reaching its apex, the title track (which is also the longest offering here) finds TV Ghost in dirgey form. You remember the Piranhas from Detroit – who also released a few discs via In the Red? Yeah, this track right here might be the best approximation of that. And while I’m still lamenting the disappearance of that Detroit act, TV Ghost at times is almost capable of making me forget my loss.

The Piranhas (or whatever other noisey punk band you’d care to reference) aren’t going to be displaced in your record collection if you pick up Cold Fish. And you might even feel fulfilled at helping to bolster the ItRR roster with an infusion of cash, but go find Erotic Grit Movies before doing anything else.