Magik Markers

It feels like a world away since the last time that a Magik Markers album showed up on RSTB, back during the heyday of Ecstatic Peace, though it was later than that huh, since their previous album was on Drag City as well; but still that enclave of noise and grit seems so synonymous with the Markers' Sonic Youth scrawl that they're forever locked in an early aughts noise prison. The band has continually evolved though, despite our wishes to relegate them to a specific time and place in musical history. Where Balf Query saw them eke ever towards accessibility, they've run those ideas through the shredder, re-embracing their noisy roots here, draping even their more melodious moments ("Mirrorless," "Young") in a gauze of fuzz and the faraway looks of tape hiss. They've grown some and tendered, especially on those two tracks, but they've not lost any of their sting. They're still balancing on the fringe. Mostly, they do what they've always done best here, saw at the mind of the public, stirring the pot of noise and nuance and unconscionably screaming into the abyss. Its good to have someone to do that for you and Magik Markers will always have a closer relationship to the din than you or I could ever hope to. The din is their backyard, their hometown, their county and they're just sending postcards from the fray so you can go on with your day.

Listen:

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE