The sounds of unconventional and unformulated rock music inspired a
generation of intellectuals who cite noise rock and jazz as their influence.
Math rock as it's so gawkily called due to its time signature mathematics
became a hit genre in the mid-00s, after a decade of Ian Williams' Don
Caballero. The beauty was that these so called math rock bands were entering a
technically gifted genre. It pays to get it right, it's scrutinising when it
fails. Williams continued his math rock adventures with Battles, releasing the
most known, appreciated and noted math rock album that's not math rock at all, Mirrored
in 2007. The experimental and almost post-rock connotation of this music
has been brushed under the carpet ever since Steve Vai started shredding.
Marnie Stern is massively influenced by Hella, the work of legendary drummer
Zach Hill, now full time percussionist for Death Grips. And fellow noise makers
Lightning Bolt. Her passion for shredding, math rock, experimenting and noise
has been an important factor in her short but impressive career as a recording
artist. So with Zach Hill, her usual resident drummer leaving for Death Grips,
can Stern direct her fourth album out of the dying genre? She just happens
to do exactly that on The Chronicles of Marnia.
Her fourth album is a step away
from the math rock / noise rock sounds of her first two albums. Her
third and most recent self-titled was also a variance of her early work, but
not as refined or well produced as The Chronicles of Marnia. Tracks such
as "Immortals" and "East Side Glory" suggest a completely different
Stern, with more time for progressions and song-writing than sound. She still
shreds her guitar and the percussion isn't too different with Kid Millions of
the band Oneida behind the kit. The electric guitar repetition is still
present, with "Nothing Is Easy" being a prime example of Stern's
layered vocal over one math rock riff and a second heavy guitar. It's Stern
singing in her child-like voice without coming across as whiney like she has
done on previous albums.
"Year of the Glad" is far from a subtle reference to David Foster
Wallace's Infinite Jest. Stern's song-writing has drastically improved,
using Wallace's novel as a pedestal for her re-branding. It's taking the old,
replacing a drummer and bringing in for the first time a producer, Nicolas
Vernhes: "The beginning, new finds. New finds and old dreams, and
everything's starting now." The album opener sets the mood for the
following 30 minutes. She's constantly evolving her music, and takes in all
inspirations and advice, as heard with her second track "You Don't Turn Down". We hear a slower Stern vocal with emphasis on studio effects. The
fast guitar picking is ever-present, with structural variations and layered
vocals to cover the gaps. Stern gives a mammoth vocal half-way in where she
sings: "I am losing all hope in my body," in her
strangely soothing vocal scream.
It's the vocal shrieks that once turned me away from Stern, but the effect
of having a producer in the studio has paid off for the on the fence
supporters, where rhythms and sounds come before loud and annoying wails.
Stern's career began as a giant jigsaw puzzle, and she's finally putting the
pieces together. The third track "Noonan" shows off her ability to
create a song without taking it too far in the noise department. The
Chronicles of Marnia never removes Stern from the scene she grew out of; it
encases her and takes her through a voyage of clean, crisp sounds, switching
the distortion pedal for the reverb. It opens in a Foals-like jive before
taking on the rhythm guitar we heard on Battles' 2011 album Gloss Drop.
The opening guitar that's drenched in effects never leaves, making
"Noonan" one of her best songs to date, it certainly fits with the
general mood on The Chronicles of Marnia.
Stern searches for an all-important anthem with The Chronicles of Marnia.
The title track could be her calling card for a wider audience, stark guitar
stabs without the unnecessary filling of out of place layers. This track has a
structure worth noting, loud energetic guitars towards the final hurdle, the
loud, blunt stabs that introduces the track and the progressive middle section
where Stern sings along with the instrumental pleasantly. Her instinctive vocal
creations (not in the English language) are never off-putting and mix nicely
with the rock atmosphere. It's what makes tracks like "Still Moving"
interesting to listen to, and interoperate. A 90s American alternative rock
guitar riff can be heard right after her vox introduction. It sounds like it's
been lifted from the opening of a Blink-182 song.
She waits right up until the final two tracks to present her new self. The
penultimate track "Proof of Life" is The Chronicles of Marnia's
swan song. It's built from a deep, thumping keyboard riff delivered by Evan
Jewett of her all new studio recording band. It's the saddest track on the
album, with Stern degrading herself in the lyrics, she sings: "I am
nothing, I am no-one." It's not a contrast to the album closer
"Hell Yes", where Stern's shredding takes over and continues a run of
math rock influenced music.
The Chronicles of Marnia won't go down as Stern's best album and it
won't be considered her most important album 10 years down the line. It's her
breakthrough album, where song-writing and production come first. Her vocals
have eagerly improved, as has her ability to create well-structured tracks all
pretty much smashing the recommended pop timing of three minutes. Stern is an
artist who's contributing to rock music today; she's the sound of a rock female
guitarist, and she lives up to her accolades with vigorous guitar work. Her
fourth album certainly has its standouts, but the main standout to me is
Stern's jigsaw puzzle skills - time will tell whether Stern completes her
mission, peaking and eventually becoming the face of guitar-based music.
~Eddie
8.6