Marnie Stern - This Is It...

Marnie Stern
This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That
(10.2008 Kill Rock Stars)
Verdict: I want to get in a fight with the album title.

My girlfriend dumped me recently. My first thought was to curl up in a ball and listen to an entire Elliott Smith album for the first time since high school. Luckily I decided against such self indulgence, imported the new Marnie Stern onto my IPod and air guitared away my troubles in the park. While Marnie Stern was not able to act as some miracle drug that wiped away all my cares, it did provide a surprising level of relief. I guess when you are listening to ear melting rock n' roll full blast as you flail around a swing set its hard to think of anything really. The good news is not much has changed since In Advance of the Broken Arm. Marnie can still shred with the best of them, if not better. Zach Hill is still a God among men when it comes to blasting beats. The songs are still pretty catchy despite being slightly ear grating, and will most likely be a key proponent into me acquiring hearing aids before I reach middle age. All in all this release is just as strong as her debut (maybe better) and has found a special place in my rock n' roll heart. Plus, she's one of the few artists that can overuse finger tapping without me wanting to punch them in the face. Screw Van Halen.

-Wooly Mammal

Marnie Stern: Live At Urban Lounge 6/25/07

SHOW IN REVIEW

When we first got to Urban there weren't many people there. The few that were there were mostly there for the local opener, Dead Horse Point. After they played there was no other opener, just Marnie Stern. It took the crowd 3 or 4 songs to really get into the music, but slowly people came out of the woodwork to gawk at the sheer amount of technical skill flying forth from the stage. It was amazing to watch the crowd, eyes widened, jaws dropping one by one. In fact, I have never seen an Urban crowd give that much attention to a band, and how could they not- their brains were being smashed by guitar shredding maddness. The sound was powerful and magic. It felt like Marnie and Robby's guitar were sending out waves of rainbows while Zach was supplying the lightning. It was like all the forces of nature combing and obliterating the Urban Lounge through one of the loudest sets I've experienced. The whole time I couldn't help but think about how Marnie and Zach should have children together. I mean, think how fast they could move! They could probly take over the entire world, cause they've got to be part machine. The most amazing thing to watch was Zach's bass pedel work. He plays double bass faster than I have ever seen anyone play double bass except he does it all with one foot and one pedel! Seriously, this trio was insane. After they finished playing the crowd stayed and masochistically screamed for an encore. After about ten minutes they were still yelling and begging for more. We finally left and saw the band outside, so I don't think the crowd ever got the encore they wanted. I wouldn't want to play an encore if I had just run a musical marathon. When they finished playing Zach outfit was entirely covered in sweat- there wasn't a dry spot on him. Overall, this show was one of the best shows I've seen so far this year. We postponed a vacation just so that we would be in town for this, and it was definately worth it. Oh, and we got out of there at 12:20a.m., which is an absolute record for an Urban Show. Amazing!

Sassy Grass

Marnie Stern - In Advance of the Broken Arm

Marnie Stern
In Advance of the Broken Arm
(2007, Kill Rock Star)
8.5/10

How could I not review this today? Marnie Stern is going to absolutely level The Urban Lounge in SLC tonight! We here at Forest Gospel have already been leveled by In Advance of the Broken Arm for some months now. Stern’s out-of-nowhere debut epic is quite a formidable listen. It’s like a musical treadmill, this one. Stern is the most apt candidate for guitarist of the year this side of Mike Barr (who obliterated The Urban Lounge for those with kind of normal expectations when he opened for Gang Gang Dance this month). Listening to this female shredder is truly an endurance test. That may be a bit misleading because Stern has some super catchy, truly accessible tracks here on Broken Arm. It’s just that I can’t even imagine how some of these guitar lines are possibly being played by a human and there is no letting up through the entire album. Seems fitting that the drumming on the album is completed by none other than Hella mega-drummer Zach Hill (also a Mike Barr collaborator along with everyone else in the world besides you). This is the best pop/rock record set too alien guitar metal in the entire world. I’m not sure how to let you know why you should listen to this. I could reference Deerhoof or maybe the Ladies or something. Either way, In Advance of the Broken Arm will not disappoint and here is a guarantee that you will not want to try out these songs on Guitar Hero (unless your name is Bjorn Turoque). Now let me get some rest because I think that the live version of these songs might give me a heart attack tonight if I’m well rested.

-Mr. Thistle

Marnie Stern - Every Single Line Means Something