Branca, Glenn – “Symphonies Nos. 8 & 10 ” – [Blast First]

Daryl Licht   10/27/2007   A Library, CD

For the recording of “Symphony Nos. 8 & 10 (The Mysteries) ” Branca assembled an orchestra consisting of a drummer, a bassist/keyboardist, and 8 guitarists. Together they create the trademark dense, yet still dynamic, wall of evolving riffs, drones, feedback, and tones (all propelled forward in many segments by simple, but relentless, percussion) on which Branca has built his reputation. It seems as though each movement gets more harsh and jarring as the album progresses and, personally, my favorite track was the sublime Second Movement of Symphony Number 8, which strikes the best balance between droning, shimmering walls of beautiful sound and raw power.

If you???re not yet aware of Branca, this CD might very well be a good place to begin your explorations, as these seminal recordings are among his best and most ???accessible??? (if such a term can really be accurately applied to any of Branca???s work) compositions and, for better or worse, clearly influenced the development the ???post-rock??? movement made so popular in recent years by bands such as Godspeed You Black Emperor and Mono. DL