[bomp] The Magik Markers / A PANEGYRIC TO THE THINGS I DO NOT UNDERSTAND (Gulcher 604)

[GulcherRecords@xxxxxxx]

The Magik Markers
A PANEGYRIC TO THE THINGS I DO NOT UNDERSTAND
(Gulcher 604)

So, you know, I was listenin' to the radio back in '76--surprised to hear the
title track from Patti Smith's RADIO ETHIOPIA, when the LP was brand new and
I hadn't got my copy yet. "Radio Ethiopia" (the track) was this amazing surge
of pure sonic madness--total free blow-out--and it left my head reeling. Then
I heard the full album, otherwise devoid of the free thing--and I was bummed.
Well, 30 years later, here's the Magik Markers. This trio sounds like its ABCs
of R&R begin with "Radio Ethiopia" + the breathless free-rock orgasm of the
Stooges' "L.A. Blues" + the most open moments of the first Godz LP on
ESP-Disk.
Of course, a zillion other things've come along in the meanwhile. The Magik
Markers were bathed in hardcore as young'uns, and they came of age in the wake
of the Dead C, Harry Pussy, and a worldwide noise scene that touches any and
every other alleged genre. But at the heart of the Magik Markers is something
much older: rock and roll. You know, R+R as envisioned down at the pub by Mark
Smith & The Fall--except you can't remember the chord changes. Let's twist
again like we did the first time we heard Suicide's "Rocket USA."

Drummer Pete Nolan can scatter and merge in a way that you could say
references Sunny Murray's free breakthroughs with Albert Ayler, but just as
often
sounds like he could be playing "Louie Louie" in a '65 garage band. Somewhere
behind and beneath the clang and dissonance of guitarists Elisa Ambrogio (also
vocals) and Leah Quimby (bass axe), I still hear the distorted blurry notes of
Paul Burlinson with the Johnny Burnette Trio--the murderous licks of Pat Hare
with Howlin' Wolf. And in between: everything from West Coast
Quicksilver/Dead/Love to dark heavy Velvets/Zep/Sabbath/PiL. But remember,
these young studs
take out all the "fancy" stuff: no songs, no scales, nothin' but room--lots of
rhythms, tons of sounds and noises (although don't mistake the MMs for a
power-electronics assault squad), even a few recognizable English words. Yeah,
the
words. They seem spontaneous, but offer tantalizing hints at the magik behind
the musicians: "You're my American woman. You're my American thighs. It's a
dark
night in Vegas. It's a dark night in Vegas" . . . "I am not compassionate. I
don't like mercy. I will take your life" . . . "It's a shy, arthritic sky" . .
. ?!

In spite of their punk roots, the Markers' form tends toward extended
breakdowns: this disc is divided into two "sides"--two long tracks--the first
running
to 19:41, and the other is 19:38. No rules is the rule here. For instance,
dig the near-acapella section on the first "side"--whistlin', odd voices,
clappin', just an occasional rattle or beep--very casual and simple but
mesmerizing.
Then there's the part on the second "side" where it sounds like everything is
moving in outta-focus slow-mo, like after you've drank waytoomuch cough syrup
(DXM)--'n yr legs 've turned t' melted, oooozing plastic. But my favorite
part (swoon!) is when Elisa begins an erotic gutter-cat rant: "I'm your
ramblin'
rose . . . I'm your Sister Anne," obvious references to the MC5. Imagine THAT
band jammin' with Yoko Ono--and yer about halfway to here. Elisa raves against
the torrent of Quimby's roaring feedback and Nolan's exploding skins in an
intuitive way that recalls Patti Smith's lost-in-the-whirlpool moments and/or
Damo Suzuki's most tongue-driven gestures with Can. Whew.

Formed in 2000, the Magik Markers have moved from New England to Kentucky to
NYC--who knows where next? They've played around the U.S. and western Europe,
including gigs with alt-rock heavies like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. The
trio has released various CDRs and cassettes on their own Arbitrary Signs
label,
as well as an LP of "early" material for T. Moore's Ecstatic Peace, and CDR
releases for Slippy Town, Imvated, and Apostasy. For their first manufactured
CD
release, the Markers have landed on the Gulcher imprint--it somehow makes
sense that this group of out-crowders would end up with the same label that
spewed MX-80, the Gizmos, and other weirdos onto an unsuspecting world. The
strange
thing is this time the world might be paying attention! Ssshhhhhh--pass the
peace pipe--turn up the amplifiers. [Eddie Flowers, Slippy Town]

Gulcher: D.I.Y. Since '75!
www.gulcher.gemm.com

The Magik Markers
www.magikmarkers.com


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