Brighter Than Life

Onetime Glenn Branca collaborator Wharton Tiers' enduring claim to fame is his role as Fun City recording studio guru, the man behind the dials on key releases by Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., White Zombie and Helmet. In the mid-'90s, while maintaining employment in a variety of music production gigs (including, with Helmet's Page Hamilton, producing the William Shatner TV ads for Priceline), Tiers began to put together something of a guitar orchestra with an evolving, revolving roster of players bolstered by his own puissant drumming and the sax bleats of Fletcher Buckley. Experimenting with layered sonic textures and, at its best moments, recalling the instrumentals of rock'n'roll’s heyday, the Ensemble's oeuvre incorporates as much "Rawhide" and "Walk Don't Run" as Branca. While the Ensemble’s fun and fervor translates best in its robust, kinetic live shows, the recordings offer a slightly consolidated version of a unique musical approach.