Surrender To the Fantasy

Elisa Ambrogio holds so many disparate pieces of the puzzle that it’s a wonder these songs hang together so well. For the first decade of the 2000s, it was hard to keep track of how many “songs” or “albums” Magik Markers had, since anyone coming to see them play could choose among an impressive amount of CD-Rs, singles, and albums. But four years after 2009’s *Balf Quarry*, 2013’s nine-song *Surrender to the Fantasy* feels as if the group has finally settled down long enough to discuss beforehand where they want the songs to go. Pete Nolan’s timekeeping is resilient, if not always as dependable as most bands would expect—but most drummers don\'t have their tracks run through a phaser (“Mirrorless”). Newish bassist John Shaw seems content to give the craziness a sense of stability. Anyone on the fence about a “noise-rock” group should probably cock an ear to the guitar histrionics of “Acts of Desperation” and “American Sphinx Face” and see if it doesn’t recall the feverish side of Neil Young.

Magik Markers stop worrying and learn how to love the bomp. Their beautiful longing world unbound — next-level explurgations in a pop music eye. Truly American music.

Magik Markers' first album in four years was recorded in J Mascis’ attic, in vocalist/guitarist Elisa Ambrogio's dad’s basement, and at a number of East Coast practice spaces. For all the different environments, Surrender to the Fantasy takes the focused quality of the noise trio's recent output and adds warmth and melody.

Four years on from their last album, US noise-rock act Magik Markers return with a record that's as clear and concise as they've ever produced.

Discover Surrender to the Fantasy by Magik Markers released in 2013. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.

For their pithier advocates, Sonic Youth’s venerated legacy represents an untouchable milestone in the history of rock music; an unrepeatable, nail-biting scene where dissonant avant-gardism and trashy punk irony collide spectacularly. So how fucking refreshing is it when a band seems to view the likes of Daydream Nation and EVOL as a gauntlet laid down before it?

Some bands sweat away in the studio for four years perfecting their high-hat sound. Others take a long rest before reassembling to swiftly bash out an album in somebody's soggy basement.

From the time Connecticut noise rock maestros Magik Markers opened for Sonic Youth on tour, in 2004, the band spent several years as the most wildly prolific creators on the scene, releasing a minimum of four new things per year, sometimes threatening a double digit tally.