Balf Quarry

With BOSS, The Magik Markers’ 2007 LP on Ecstatic Peace!, many devotees (wrongly) assumed that it was the talons of Thurston Moore that had finally taken Elisa Ambrogio and Pete Nolan by the face, ripping away the sonic junk and angered fuzzed that had been, up until that album, the duo’s calling card. After countless C D-R releases from Pete Nolan’s Arbitrary Signs and a wealth of like-minded albums from a myriad of DIY labels, BOSS was not only an unexpected change of pace, but also a much needed one.

If a band makes two records that move their sound in the same direction, is it fair to call the first a step forward and the second a retread? No, it's not. So please don't call Balf Quarry a repeat of BOSS, Magik Markers' excellent 2007 album. I understand the temptation-- like its predecessor, Balf Quarry channels this duo's noisy leanings into simpler songs without sacrificing the band's fiery energy. There are even some direct parallels-- the best song here, the chugging "Don't Talk in Your Sleep", bears echoes of BOSS' single "Taste", while the raging "Jerks" recalls BOSS' "Body Rot". And when heard in light of a 20-plus release discography (including at least seven since BOSS), Balf Quarry certainly sounds more like BOSS than anything else the band has done.