Y

Y was recorded in 1978 and 1979 at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey with Dennis Bovell, of Matumbi and the Jah Sufferer sound system, and the band; it was his first non-reggae production credit, according to Spectrum Culture. Simon Reynolds credits Bovell with giving the unruly sound cohesion. A Head Heritage reviewer says the band listened to King Tubby and Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz while recording.

The reception at first was mixed, and the NME called it a brave failure. Later AllMusic gave it four and a half stars, Uncut 9 out of 10 and Mojo four out of five; Pitchfork ranked it 35th among the albums of the 1970s in 2004, and The Wire included it in its 100 most important records ever made. The 2007 Rhino/Radar CD added the single and its B-side "3'38", and the 2019 Mute definitive edition restored the original running order, opening with "Thief of Fire", and added Alien Blood, unreleased studio material, and Y Live, recorded in New York, London, Sheffield and Manchester. Nick Cave described the band as unholy, manic, violent, paranoid and painful.