The Ascension

When looking at all the press that followed 99 Records' release of Glenn Branca's 'The Ascension' in 1981, one cannot avoid the debate, is 'The Ascension' a rock band performing classical pieces, or an experimental ensemble performing rock music? Glenn's prior work in the seminal no-wave bands The Static and the Theoretical Girls represented some of the most aggressively avant-rock sounds of the New Wave era, while his work in the two decades since has taken on a decidedly 'classical' approach. However, for a brief moment, Branca and his band were able to transcend such classifications as High Art vs. Pop Culture, Classical Music vs. Rock and Roll, and release a record that, amongst all the debate, at least had all the critics agreeing on one thing: 'The Ascension' is truly awesome.

Acute's release of 'The Ascension' marks its domestic debut on CD, and to celebrate, we've added lots of extras. Our version is completely remixed by Chicago neo-no-wave legend Weasel Walter of The Flying Luttenbachers. We have added a short but intense video clip of Glenn performing live in SoHo from 1978. Lee Ranaldo has also supplied us with liner notes that give a fascinating insight not only on his work with Branca, but on the overall social and artistic atmosphere of downtown New York City in the early '80s.