Remember three years ago when that whole "No Wave Resurrection" thing was going on (or at least the media penned it that way)? Remember how none of the bands fingered by the press as being in this New No Wave thing sounded remotely like a vintage No Wave band? How disappointed were you? Well, you can dry your three-year-old eye boogers because Magik Markers are the real deal. I Trust My Guitar, Etc, the band's first official release after a string of often brilliant CDRs, is a 'primitive' masterwork akin to Half Japanese's ½ Gentlemen Not Beasts. Lead singer/lone guitarist Elisa Ambrigio assaults her guitar in a style that she likens to a woman masturbating while singing like she's being chased through the Bronx by a pack of police dogs. Elisa is accompanied by Pete Nolan's power drumming and Leah Quimby's low-tuned bass. Side A kicks off with the title track, which is a good introduction to the band before the full-frontal beating that ensues. Elisa finds and manipulates her guitar's clitoris on "Most Beautiful City on Earth," an orgasmic scorcher that showcases the band's knack for fast, punky songs. The rhythm is kept by a two-note bass line by Quimby, which provides Elisa enough room to rub and bend her strings as filler. The only track on second side of the album, "Straight A's in Love," just so happens to be the highlight of the album. Pete Nolan's trashcan drumming frames the song and gives Lea and Elisa room to explore their sound. Ranging from an atmospheric piece to a punch-you-in-the-balls rave-up, the slow-burner is consistently enveloped in thick layers of sludge. My only problem with the track is my only problem with the album: the fact that it has to end.
1. I Trust My Guitar, Etc.
2. Morris House
3. Most Beautiful City on Earth
4. 5 Dollars
5. Dreaming of Vegas & Pussy & Victory
6. Straight A's in Love
More about: The Magik Markers
