Over the last few years a great deal of attention has been paid to the NYC No Wave scene of the late 70s. There have been books, movies, and quite a few reissues/issues of classic and essential music. Acute Records is proud to have been involved with some essential reissues from the period, such as our first CD, containing Jeffrey Lohn’s contributions to the Theoretical Girls.
Jeffrey Lohn is an artist, composer, writer, teacher and plumber. During the genesis of the No Wave scene, he hosted late night concerts in his Soho loft, where artists like Tim Wright, Laurie Anderson and Nina Canal would gather and perform music. The No Wave scene was filled with artists, non-musicians, improvisers and composers who were being inspired by the energy and aesthetics, if not the sound, of the cresting CB’s punk scene. The raw and aggressive punk of bands like the Dead Boys were of particular interest to Lohn, who wanted to combine his “serious” compositions with the raw energy of punk rock. Finding likeminded people such as 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. Yet external pressures and internal politics thwarted the official public release of their music during their existence, other then a sole self-release 7″ the classic US Millie/You Got Me, featuring one song each composed by Lohn and Branca.
Acute’s release of Theoretical Record collects over an hour of Jeffrey Lohn’s material. Now, for the first time in decades, his songs and sound will get the credit they are due.
