Well, what to say about this brilliant album, what words to choose that will do it justice? Like clutnuckle, I am so familiar with it, every sound is so natural to me that I have to make an effort to remember what did it sound like when I first heard it. But, I have to say that even then it sounded familiar in a way, because I was listening to Sonic Youth for years prior to hearing it. And it wasn't my first Branca album, that was
Symphony No. 6 (Devil Choirs at the Gates of Heaven), another excellent record.
Everybody knows how influential Branca was and is, blah, blah...I wanna talk about music. These four guitars, a bass and drums, a bit extended rock line-up, create such a deeply layered music, rich in colors, dynamic, full of contrasts and contradictions. These contradictions are expressed through tensions and releases, lightness and darkness, repetitions and changes. All of this is achieved with the most important thing, that ties everything together, a masterful composition.
'Lesson No. 2', the opening track, one of the two shorter ones, shows the gradual progression of repetitive riffs, set in different layers, which provide their interplay, chasing, playing around each other. One is full of nonchalance and the other is dense and hypnotic, threatening to drown everything in noise. This creates an interesting dynamic, despite the repetition, since the whole structure is on the verge of breaking apart. Because of it, the pause and the abrupt change in the middle doesn't seem out of place. It manages to surprise, but also feel inevitable. This to me is one of the greatest qualities of Branca's compositions.
The Spectacular Commodity (For Eiko and Koma) is maybe the best track on the album. It embodies everything I said above about contrasts and contradictions. It starts with minimal, spare tones becoming more and more dissonant, until the piercing, hollow, vibrating clusters break in with such a force creating an almost unbearable tension. The effect is highly dramatic, but at the same time it feels like this unresolved state will last forever, like some nightmarish drone. That is until some positive phrases began to appear promising a light at the end of the tunnel. But the drama is not over, there's no relaxing yet. After a long section of chasing, struggling, contrasts and overcoming of chaos, this piece goes with optimism. Truly spectacular!!! (I had to...
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Structure despite being the shortest, feels epic and monumental, an excellent exercise in intense build up.
Light Field (In Consonance), well, the title says it all. You know how classical compositions always have that seamless flow through time and modern ones are somehow claustrophobically trapped in time. This track, to me, is the perfect marriage of modern and classical composition....for guitars. Brilliant!
The Ascension, hmm, I could never decide which one is better, this or Spectacular Commodity. This epic, droning, closing track on the first hearing may look flat, but is actually full of refined differentiations. The first part is solemn, cosmic, consisting of vibrating clusters of tones and the general tone of ascending. But, throughout, there is a gradual, subtle change in mood, hinting at some inner turmoil. This turmoil comes in the second part through alternations of silent or calm sections and intense phrases. Gradually everything starts to flatten out again, but this time with the constant, subtle descending....until everything bursts with an intense climax. This is an excellent example of masterclass in minimal composition. It looks so simple on the outside, but what a rich world it reveals when you pay attention.
Since I made such an emphases on compositions, I have to mention that, despite all the alternate tunings, riffs and phrases, Branca's understanding of composition is the most valuable thing Sonic Youth learned from him. For its own merits and influence this record gets the highest mark.