Glenn Branca - Structure 1981 (from the album Ascension)

Image by DG Jones via Flickr

Ascension:
Finally, a legitimate re-release of Glenn Branca's seminal debut long playing record that was originally released in 1981 on the most important independent New York label of the day, 99 records (home to Liquid Liquid, ESG). After moving to New York and fronting two of the most caustic no wave bands going (Theoretical Girls, Static), Branca honed his vision, taking out the histrionics, but leaving in the theatricality and grandiosity. This is huge music made with a small ensemble, and yet for all its reputed ugliness, the compositions here actually soar. Patterned guitar riffs create a forward moving velocity that belies the density of the songs. This is possibly the most listenable music to be sprung from no-wave; in fact it practically turns on the genre's conventions by getting downright romantic at points. Branca's ensemble famously employed Lee Renaldo (who is featured here) and Thurston Moore in their pre-Sonic Youth days, and the more you listen the more you realize how intensely this must have influenced their subsequent careers. Put this on and then give "Sister" (recorded three or four years later) a spin and you'll see what I mean. Essential. [MK] (June 17, 2003)

The video is from a British horror short, Where Has Poor Mickey Gone?