magic marker records

Tullycraft: Lost in Light Rotation

Andy Fenstermaker
January 11, 2013September 18, 2013

Every Scene Needs A Center, the brilliant LP from 2007, was the last time we heard from Seattle’s Tullycraft. That was six years ago. A few years after Every Scene, the band called it quits, but the hiatus was thankfully short and they’re back! Reformed anew and with some fresh tunes, the band will release Lost in Light Rotation this spring via their long-time US home Magic Marker Records (slated for a UK release on Fortuna Pop). Read More »Tullycraft: Lost in Light Rotation

Throw Me The Statue: Sharpshooters (BOAT Cover)

Andy Fenstermaker
January 9, 2013September 18, 2013

Can you remember 2006? I can. In particular, I can remember a little Seattle band I discovered as they neared the release of their debut LP, Songs That You Might Not Like. That band was and still is called BOAT. I’ve been a huge fan ever since.

BOAT is now prepared to drop their fifth LP, Pretend To Be Brave. The first 100 who pre-order the new album, available for pre-order in February, will receive a limited edition cassette with digital download of BOAT’s friends covering the new album. It’s called Pretend To Be BOAT. Read More »Throw Me The Statue: Sharpshooters (BOAT Cover)

BOAT: (I’ll Beat My Chest Like) King Kong [mp3]

Andy Fenstermaker
January 28, 2011February 6, 2022

BOAT is prepared to release their fourth album, Dress Like Your Idols, in March and we have here the first single from that album. The song is called “(I’ll Beat My Chest Like) King Kong” and it maintains BOAT’s wild throaty vocals, packed with a seemingly self-deprecating sarcasm and a penchant toward pop culture. It maintains those rockin’ guitar riffs and bouncy percussion. It maintains all those lovable rock hooks, catchy as all hell. Yet it’s slightly different from their past three releases — it’s more mature, refined a little bit, almost grown-up.

Andy Fenstermaker
February 24, 2010February 21, 2010

World Atlas is slated to give us their self-titled EP early next month on Magic Marker Records. The band is joined by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good To Me) on guitar and The Umbrella Girls on hand-claps, tambourines and back-up vocals. Fronted ultimately by Brian Groux on vocals and guitar, World Atlas is what you’d expect from a band on Magic Marker — they dig The Smiths and Velvet Underground, and list as influences the various indie-pop and twee sub-cultures. Read More »World Atlas: The Winter Stories [mp3]

“Won’t Say Anything” by Hello Seahorse! [mp3]

Andy Fenstermaker
December 15, 2009December 14, 2009

Hello Seahorse! creates honest, lovable pop in the vein of Mates Of State. The trio from Mexico City is centered around light, clean keyboard riffs, soft bass lines and female-fronted vocals. The music is ingenuous and unassuming. There’s no typical pretensions here, simply pleasant pop songs. “Won’t Say Anything” will surprise you with its purity, and abash you for your lack innocence. Read More »“Won’t Say Anything” by Hello Seahorse! [mp3]

BOAT [Feature]

Andy Fenstermaker
November 14, 2009November 13, 2009

It’s been approximately three and a quarter years since I first wrote about BOAT, what was once a Seattle by… Read More »BOAT [Feature]

Fred Thomas: Flood [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
August 29, 2009August 28, 2009

Directly upon the heels of two stellar releases, Every Scene Needs A Center by Tullycraft and Daughters And Suns by The Owls, Magic Marker Records treats us to a bit of a surprise. Where the labelâ€™s typical release is inundated with pop and twee, Fred Thomasâ€™ Flood can almost be considered experimental folk, or even freak folk. Learning Thomasâ€™ history in pop will help the listener understand this release and its home on Magic Marker. Read More »Fred Thomas: Flood [Album Review]

The Faintest Ideas: What Goes Up Must Calm Down [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
June 28, 2009May 5, 2023

When I think of indie-pop in the states, I think of a few key labels: Matinee, Magic Marker, Happy Happy Birthday to Me and TwentySeven. These four make up some of the best US released pop music I know. It’s on the second, Magic Marker, that The Faintest Ideas now call home. The Faintest Ideas hail from Sweden, a country I adore and admire, but their name and sound signifies something completely different, removing much of the Swedish pop influence for those a bit more British, circa C86.

BOAT: Songs That You Might Not Like [Album Review]

Andy Fenstermaker
May 6, 2009November 3, 2022

When I discovered BOAT, I pre-ordered Songs That You Might Not Like and started a FensePost feature article on the band within ten minutes of initial discovery. Still, when I received the album, it took a while for me to give it a full listen and it took a few weeks to really appreciate the music. A week and a half ago I drove to Spokane and finally gave it a good spin. Multiple listens, a few coffee stains, and two worn edges later, the result was miraculous.

Andy Fenstermaker
April 12, 2009

Despite being released in 2004, â€œAirâ€ off Our Hopes And Dreams by The Owls was one of the frequented songs in my playlist last summer. The song maintains its pedestal spot as “Best Song By The Owls,” despite the recent release of Daughters And Suns. But where Our Hopes And Dreams as a whole maintained brevity in terms of my attention, Daughters And Suns finds the Minneapolis band with many more repeat plays. Read More »Owls: Daughters And Suns [Album Review]