Magik Markers - I Trust My Guitar etc. (Ecstatic Peace)

No wave was what punk should've been. A nihlistic view on music based on a deep believe in anti art as a form of rebellion. As a hidden reverse for England's blossoming postpunk scene no wave only thrived for a short period of time, frantically making it's appearance with it's wall of terror it deceased as soon the major labels started brewing marketing plans for it's anti-heroes, Lydia Lunch and James Chance. Now, with the greedy plundering of everything postpunk it's only a a matter of time someone would delve into the sounds of the Lower East Side.

While they admit to recently starting to like no wave outfits like Teenage Jesus and Red Transistor what they, in their minds, are trying to convey is a mixture bewteen Bad Brains, Cro Mags and Black Flag. Seems only logical when your abilities are slightly lacking you end up at the no wave clubhouse. I Trust My Guitar, Etc. is their first proper album having released a string of cd-r's with selfmade packaging. This hit me fresh in the face after seeing them perform live at the Belgian K-RAA-K festival in March. Singer/shouter/provoker Elisa managed to come across destructive and charming at the same time which grabbed the attention of everyone in the public, while some might question it's authenticity it's virtually impossible to escape her energetic drive. On record she maintains this frantic rebellion, rather ranting than singing while drummer Pete Nolan pounds the drums with metronomic tribal force. The first side of the LP and the first five tracks of the album are it's songbased core. The part that connects them to the whole no wave era. The titletrack kickstarts the party with atonal guitarbursts that are more rhythmically constructed than melodically. On 'Morris House' Nolan maintains a monotone beat that steadily speeds up, Elisa's vocals occassionally come out of the thick mist laid down by walls of spacious, metallic feedback unleashed by guitarist Leah.

The album's second part consists of only one 22-minute track that sounds like a clash of broken riffs involving Bardo Pond, Shellac and Keiji Haino. Starting with grotesque industrial clatter it slowly manoeuvres itself into a locked groove orientated around more or less semi improvised and effect laden guitar riffs. Not your traditional rock record, I Trust My Guitar Etc. is refreshing, daring and bravely seeking a niche for itself and while it keeps on punctuating my soul I hardly felt this satisfied after hearing a record.