For all the meandering, all the fog and confusion and the splattering of sounds that happens on any given Magik Markers release (of which there are ostensibly countless), there is always something very pure and direct at the core. The Connecticut trio makes fevered, impressionistic rock music that has evolved slowly into something resembling song-formed work after years of uneven noise jams. On Surrender to the Fantasy, there is tenderness, there is evil, there are curious moments of shambolic beauty. As ever, there is vocalist Elisa Ambrogio unceremoniously forming craggy bits of lyrical catnip by the boatload.
This article appears in Dec 5-11, 2013.