Now operating somewhere in between the frequencies of Red Krayola and the Raincoats, bare knuckle front-woman Elisa Ambrogio leads the Magik Markers deeper in their quest to mend the fault line between rock deconstruction and a recently budded pop-sensibility on their new album Balf Quarry.
With the album title being a reference to their home town, it is fitting that we find the group stripped down to a duo, reaching for a balance between 2007’s comparatively accessible Boss and the noisier catharsis of their earlier output. The result is a thick visceral batter of rock’s outstanding subversives for the past 30 years all mixed into one. “Don’t Talk in Your Sleep” conjures a detached aggression á la Scout Niblett. Spearheaded by a martial guitar lick, pounding snare rolls, and Elisa’s vengeful narration, it produces a castrating swagger that makes PJ Harvey look like a harmless subway performer. Amazingly, the Markers keep this pace for the majority of Balf Quarry, taking very few breathers throughout the 10 tracks, and when they aren’t swinging for the fence, they opt for brief explorations of the less offensive, but no less compelling angles of their song writing.
One such example is the mid-album gem “7/23″, which contrasts a catchy vocal melody reminiscent of K Records playfulness and a distorted horse-trot percussion that gradually latches on to the beat. Minimally constructed, and confidently realized, this is one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. A similar ambiance is forged on “Psychosomatic”, a twitchy, downer version of The Shaggs’ child-like aesthetic filtered through a dense neurosis.
But in lieu of all this name dropping, perhaps the most remarkable feat is that Balf Quarry is more than the sum of these influences. It’s a triptych of lustful garage howls, off-kilter pop songs, and a few crusty free form jams to mediate both ends of the spectrum. The Magik Markers have become a true adversary to anyone making safe music, and this is their fire-eyed call to arms. A surefire candidate for the 2009 Best Of lists.
Fagen-Becker Quality Rating
Balf Quarry is available May 5th on Drag City.
For fans of: Sunburned Hand of the Man, The Red Krayola, early Animal Collective, The Dead C, Faust
MP3 :::
Magik Markers – Don’t Talk in Your Sleep
Magik Markers – 7/23
