Yeah, she shreds. And yes, she’s made finger-tapping cool (again?). And drummer Zach Hill is a beast. And she’s a gurl, so what. Hype isn’t easy, but that guitar just bulldozes it all.
Stern‘s Kill Rock Stars debut In Advance Of The Broken Arm is a web of finger-tapped Van Halen-cum-Sonic Youth noise and free-rock spazz drums. It’s a sensational racket far from subtlety, and the live show is no different.
“Vibrational Match” opened the Chicago set with guitar squiggles more suited to an arena than a bar, and I felt transported. Until now, Stern’s tapping heroics had been backed by an iPod, but her new band, also including Robby Moncrieff on second guitar, are a different beast.
A new band they are, and the trio is still finding it’s groove. I have no doubt that they will find said groove, as the force of this band is already astonishing. Each song was a galvanic blast of guitar interplay and firebrand drumming. Free of studio artifice, “Every Single Line Means Something” was even more nervy, with Stern’s deceptively beautiful voice taking on a more human dimension.
The glorious, slow-building finale “Patterns of a Diamond Ceiling” also surpassed its studio counterpart for sheer, visceral stomp. This is music unlike anything else, guitar hero or not, and the show was a hoot. Catching Stern on tour is not to be missed.
– Mike McGovern
Marnie Stern: “Every Single Line Means Something”