New Music Releases – Marnie Stern – Self-Titled (Kill Rock Stars)

Third full-length from Hella/The Advantage member Marnie Stern. Its a follow-up to her 2008 album “This Is It”.

Stern makes progressive music for the indie crowd. The newest euphemism for this is “math rock, ” and as that label implies, the music is technical, spastic and not always accessible. Stern’s high-pitched, screechy vocal style is an acquired taste, kind of like a hyperactive cartoon chipmunk double-tracking itself.
She’s a different kind of guitar hero in that she doesn’t play the way conventionally talented guitarists do. Her two-handed tapping arpeggios form the basis for most of her songs. The tapping riffs are manic cloudbursts of sound. Think Eddie van Halen meets Sleater-Kinney. – Ryan Faughdner / Neon Tommy

That bit on Pixies’ ‘Oh My Golly’ where Joey Santiago flips out and unleashes that squealy psycho ‘solo’ ? Covered here three dozen times. Unbelievable. Just because she can wave her guitar around with low slung abandon doesn’t mean she’s mastered the damn thing. You will find more striking evidence of young females coming to the fore with their chops in order on, say, the first Throwing Muses album. – The Music Fix

Tracklist
For Ash (MP3)
Nothing Left
Transparency Is the New Mystery (MP3)
Risky Biz
Female Guitar Players Are the New Black
Gimme
Cinco de Mayo
Building a Body
Her Confidence
The Things You Notice
Further Info: MySpace | Wikipedia
Reviews: Crawdaddy! | Faronheit | Guardian | MusicOMH | Neon Tommy | One Thirty BPM | Potholes In My Blog | Soundblab | Spinning Platters | The Music Fix | Tiny Mix Tapes | The Quietus