Take a trip to a musical terrain where art and punk collide as filmmaker Scott Crary presents an illuminating look at New York City's short-lived no wave scene of the late 1970s and early '80s. A scene that birthed bands more concerned with challenging listeners rather than getting them out on the dance floor, no wave was an attempt by frustrated punk rockers to eschew such traditional concepts as influence and rhythm to birth something truly transgressive and original. Though the music of such no wavers as Suicide, Lydia Lunch, and Theoretical Girls would ultimately be deemed unlistenable by the majority of music fans, the post-punk elements of the style would later be adapted into a more commercial sound by such popular bands as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Black Dice, and Liars. In addition to allowing the artists from each generation speak about what they believe to be the true value of their music, Crary attempts to contrast and compare the decidedly anti-commercial sentiments of the original no wavers with the radio-friendly output of their millennial counterparts.
~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide