Hello.

So, it begins. Post #1 reaffirming, maybe embarrassingly so, my feeble attractions to whiskey-toting female guitarists who just happen to be from Brooklyn. Could it be Elisa Ambrogio's exhausted swagger? Or maybe just the fact that she is apparently using her half pint of Jim Beam as a guitar slide? I mean, damn!

In any case, the noise coming from the Magik Markers lately has been largely impressive and refreshing. This all in the wake of what seems to be a constantly recycled sound coming from New York's "king country". As a part of the often criticized "no-fi" movement, they are certainly not for everyone.

What really matters, however, is that their new record Boss, out on Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace label, is like a spear of mind blowing textures that make it an unqualified, challenging masterwork in my eyes. At times reminiscent of late 80's Sonic Youth on tracks like "Taste", it also has a clear sensitivity to songwriting on "Bad Dream/Hartford's Beat Suite", all while preserving the discordant world they've been known to create.

This friday is the big 2-3 for me &, along with a few exciting coastal adventures on Saturday, I will be seeing them at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco. If I could urge you any more to find a way to the show I'd probably be hitting you point-blank in the face with a sledgehammer. Which is ironically what some believe their music simulates. They'll be playing with Seattle sweetheart Goatgirl.

Hold onto your face..

From the "BOSS" LP:

>> Taste
>> Bad Dream/Hartford's Beat Suite

**note: you might want to consider THIS before seeing them live.

Also, let it be known that the weekend will end with a burst of joy when Akron/Family plays at The Crepe Place (1134 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz). They are a virtually unclassifiable band that, along with ex-Swan Michael Gira's project Angels of Light, are responsible for two of the most undeniably great albums of the year. Akron/Family's Love Is Simple, and Angels of Light's We Are Him, both on Young God Records. More on the folk-inspired brilliance of Angels of Light later.



Sunday: a perfect day for delicious cheese-filled crepes and Akron/Family's epic display of beards and random toy instruments. Yum!


Akron/Family - Moment (live) Albany, NY




[I'm looking forward to writing along side these lovelies. I'll be filling up my pockets with more stallions, unicorns, and the like in the near future.. ]