[1] In 2013, Body/Head received high-praise for the free structure and improvisation found on their debut album Coming Apart, which drew comparisons to early releases by bassist Kim Gordon's former band, Sonic Youth.

[2] At the time the material on No Waves was recorded, the duo was performing live at the Bijou Theater for the 2014 Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee to promote the release of Coming Apart.

[4] Guitarist Bill Nace explained in an interview for Rolling Stone magazine that the album's good sound-quality resulted from "microphones on the amps, not post-production whitewashing".

[5] The three tracks on No Waves have all previously appeared on past Body/Head releases, albeit in different structural forms: "The Show Is Over" is the A-side of a single distributed in 2014, and "Abstract Actress" is a medley of the two Coming Apart songs.

[6] Music critic Andy Cush notes that, rather than attempting to replicate their studio work, the duo "treat the songs as rough outlines for further improvision, to be colored in as the musicians please".