GLENN BRANCA SOLO (1978)

Theoretical Girls

The Theoretical Girls may just be the most influential group you've never heard. This seminal new york city no-wave group from the late 70s created songs and sounds that helped shape what we know today as alternative or indie rock. Yet external politics and internal pressures within the band thwarted the official public release of their music, until now.

Following the initial punk and new wave explosion that gave birth to bands like Television, The Ramones and Blondie, a movement emerged from the NYC underground called no wave (featuring bands like Lydia Lunch's Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, James Chance and the Contortions, and DNA [featuring Arto Lindsay, Tim Wright and Ikue Mori]).

Jeffrey Lohn, artist, composer, writer and plumber, was at the heart of no wave. He hosted all night concerts in his chinatown loft where young musicians, improvisers, and artists would gather and perform music. Lohn, a classically trained composer, was very excited by new bands like the ramones and wanted to combine his classical compositions with the raw energy of punk rock. with Glenn Branca (gtr, bass, vocals), Margaret Dewyss (organ, bass, vocals), and Wharton Tiers (drums, vocals), he formed the Theoretical Girls.

At the time there were no bands on the new york city scene that better combined the accessibility of punk, new wave and plain old rock and roll with such avant-garde takes on classical composition and sheer noise. this combination made the theoretical girls both a cutting edge assault of noise-rock and an incredibly catchy rock band.