For Fans Of: Sonic Youth, Swans, Helmet, Rhys Chatham, Phillip Glass,
Steve Reich, Terry Riley, LaMonte Young, Noise Bands, Guitar
Driven Heavy Metal
"Symphony
No. 1 is the acme of what recent New York art rockers have
yet accomplished. This may be the loudest piece of music
this writer has ever heard." - John Rockwell, New
York Times. July 19, 1981
"Imagine a
lion roaring and put your head in its mouth. Then you might
get close to the impact of Branca's music. All the flesh of
pop music is hacked away, but the terrifying bones still
remain." - New Musical Express, UK, January 14,
1984
"Branca
and 16 guest musicians beat the hell out of Symphony No. 1
in a highly industrial manner." - Music Week, UK,
December 17, 1983
"He makes
explosive challenging music, strong stuff. He's playing with
fire and he knows it." - Steve Albini, Matter,
February 1984
"He
succeeds in turning over the so-called evil sexual powers of
rock music in its primitive state into a form of
resistance." - Kim Gordon, Art Forum, January
1983
"Awesome
orchestral impact of Branca's massed minimalist heavy metal
mantra." - Michael Shore, SoHo News, August 8,
1981
"Those who
heard Symphony No. 1 in 1981 knew it left them all shook up.
This recording shows there was method in the mayhem. Huge
and brutal and utterly magnificent." - Jon
Pareles, New York Times, Liner Notes,
1983
"Branca,
the mark of imaginative and gifted talent who emerged from
the New York 'No-Wave' movement of the late 70's. During the
80's, Branca established the Neutral label, which served as
an early outlet for Sonic Youth and The Swans." - Guinness Who's Who Of Rock
"His work
for guitar ensembles (up to 9 guitars) are unforgettable.
Furiously powerful rock drumming, brilliant buzzing drones,
dramatic crescendos." - David Newgarden,
CMJ
"Astonishing
force. It reached a level of barely contained energy that
must be without parallel on the current music scene."
- David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor,
August 8, 1981
"Mr.
Branca's music is an aural hurricane. He has created perhaps
the most impressive wall of sound yet heard." - Robert Palmer, New York Times, November 19,
1981
"It's
breathtaking. Simply marvelous." - Harold
Wuelfing, Time Out, February 1984
"Makes his
army of guitars sound like a massive army of thrashy
pounding drums." - Dean Suzuki, Op,
1984
"Symphony
No. 1 alternates between relentless thundering guitar chords
and primal rhythmic pounding. As instrumental layers build,
overtones clash to produce melodies of their own and can
trick the listener into hearing instruments that are not
there." - Trouser Press Record
Guide
"The
master of loud guitar." - Byron Coley, Spin Record
Guide, Seven Stars!
"Branca
stretches his music further than is normally deemed
acceptable or even possible in the world of rock, frequently
reaching a plateau of sustained intensity rarely achieved
outside of the spiritual or sexual encounter." -
Lynden Barber, Melody Maker
"Glenn
Branca is a rock 'n roll renegade who has left the standard
rock circuit behind to become a trailblazing new music
iconoclast. Branca's music is absolutely hypnotic, building
with an enormous cascading crescendo that seems nonstop and
nonstoppable. It is absolutely riveting, completely
devastating." - Rob Baker, New York Daily
News
