Magik Markers

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More About

• Thurston Moore
• Sonic Youth
• Pete Nolan
• Leah Quimby
• Elisa Ambrogio

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Magik Markers are this seminoisy, lo-fi indie-rock trio from New England incessantly championed in print by the grand dragon of all things indie, Thurston Moore (i.e., the tall dude in Sonic Youth). In fact, Moore released this LP on his imprint, and he also packaged it with a hand-numbered poetry zine dedicated to this revered cult act featuring a rather silly fan poem that he actually penned. Moore's enthusiasm for the modern underground is commendable, but MM's rote interpretation of early '90s, Velvet Underground/no wave-inspired punk-noise is sonic terrain too often traveled over the past 20 years. Guitarists Elisa Ambrogio and Leah Quimby essentially rekindle Moore's own atonal six-string attack from mid-'80s Sonic Youth (but with noticeably diminished returns), while drummer Pete Nolan, admittedly a physical presence behind the kit, lays down rudimentary rhythms that limit just how free and out there his group can be. Call me a dogmatic modernist, but the future is too rich in aesthetic possibilities for a band (considered cutting edge) to be dicking around with such dated structures and grooves, even if they are suffused with howling feedback. And here I thought Thurston was the type of guy who understood this.