Marnie Stern’s bag of tricks is not a secret. By now, in her musical adventure, we know what weapons she brings to the fight. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that Marnie destroys a guitar, tapping her way through labyrinthian passes across the fretboard. You also know to expect those guitar lines to weave around hyperactive, impressive drumming. What is a mystery is how Marnie continues to just do what she does and somehow keep it totally fresh. In the world of vituoso guitarists, what you usually get is long, meandering jerk-off albums. Instead of putting us to sleep with her unbelievable talent, Marnie once again employs it to fashion an album where her incontestable chops, soaring hooks, deceptive time signatures, and wild energy all play into a master plan, the result of which is another truly fun, emotionally charged album.







