[3][4] In 1983 Abrahams (ex-Laughing Clowns) on keyboards and Swanton on bass guitar were founders of the Benders, a jazz group, with Dale Barlow and Jason Morphett on saxophones, and Louis Burdett on drums; which disbanded in 1985.

[3][4] Buck had been a member of a number of groups: Great White Noise (1983), Women and Children First, Tango Bravo and Pardon Me Boys; prior to forming the Necks.

"[3] François Couture of AllMusic described how they "usually start playing a very basic melodic and rhythmic figure, and then keep going at it for an hour, gradually introducing microscopic changes and variations.

"[5] The band has been described as "offending (successfully) against tradition for the past quarter of a century, [doing so] mostly by occupying the spaces between accepted positions and obstinately refusing to obey genre rules".

[7] Couture noticed that "The difference between Sex and the many other CDs they would record afterwards is the purity: The trio's hypnotic repetitive piece relies only on piano, bass, and drums; no electronics, extra keyboards, samples, or lengthy introduction.

[3][4] Abrahams formed an ongoing duo with Melanie Oxley (1989–2003), which has released four "moody, emotive soul/pop albums" from Welcome to Violet (October 1992) to Blood Oranges (April 2003).

Geoff Winston of London Jazz News described how "Each performance by [the Necks] begins with a blank page which one of the trio will start to fill in to commence the journey, an uninterrupted set of around forty to sixty minutes.

As the 'piece' builds through subtle micro-changes, the interaction of their instruments creates layers of harmonics and prismatic washes of sound that lead some to apply the genre label 'trance jazz'.

"[10] Studio albums by The Necks are also based on improvisations, but the recording process can involve multiple takes and sections which are then edited together into a single composition.

[11] Studio recordings often involve extra instrumentation beyond the core piano, bass and drums, including samples, organ (Abrahams), electric guitar (Buck) and appearances by guest musicians.