Symphony No. 2 – The Peak Of The Sacred
(Atavistic) Used CD $8.00
This magnificent, resonant, clangorous soundscape of almost imponderable density and length swell to maximum volume and maintains a high level of intensity for over an hour with little relaxation. The unpredictable but intended interplay of overtones and acoustics, evoked by Branca’s mallet guitarists and percussionists, adds considerably to the music’s power, sense of space, and cosmic scope. First edition from 1992 with gold sticker as front panel artwork
The Ascension
(Superior Viaduct) Used LP $12.00 (Out-of-stock)
Four guitarists (Branca, fellow composers Ned Sublette and David Rosenbloom, and future Sonic Youth member Lee Ranaldo), with Jeffrey Glenn on bass and Stephan Wischerth on drums, tear down the genre-ghettos between 20th century avant-garde and ecstatic rock’n’roll on this 2014 reissue of the 1981 LP. On “The Spectacular Commodity,” chiming, shimmering tones unfold into sinister drone-territory à la Tony Conrad, while abrasive guitars and repetitive beats retain the raw primitivism of No Wave. The title track attains a densely packed, larger-than-life sound and (as author Marc Masters says) “never stops climbing skyward.” Sealed