Marnie Stern

There’s little doubt that Marnie Stern lives up to her reputation as “the lady who shreds,” but for Marnie, shredding is not enough. After putting out three critically-acclaimed albums, Marnie could have gotten away with putting out another album filled with her richly layered sound, singular frenetic finger tapping and almost philosophical lyrics. However, as anyone who has given her last few albums a good listen can tell, Marnie is not one to stand still. Instead she attacks her musical evolution with full frontal bravado, reveling in musical risk instead of relaxing in the comforts of the known. For Marnie, musical possibility drives her ambition. read more…

There’s little doubt that Marnie Stern lives up to her reputation as “the lady who shreds,” but for Marnie, shredding is not enough. After putting out three critically-acclaimed albums, Marnie could have gotten away with putting out another album filled with her richly layered sound, singular frenetic finger tapping and almost philosophical lyrics. However, as anyone who has given her last few albums a good listen can tell, Marnie is not one to stand still. Instead she attacks her musical evolution with full frontal bravado, reveling in musical risk instead of relaxing in the comforts of the known. For Marnie, musical possibility drives her ambition.

Her new album, The Chronicles of Marnia, finds Marnie not only working with a new drummer (Oneida’s Kid Millions), but also passionately subtracting from her normally dense song structures to craft a sound that is both familiar and wholly original. “I always gravitate towards interweaving and a more abrasive sound,” Marnie said about working on the new album. “I was working with Nicholas Vernhes from Rare Book Room Recording in Brooklyn, and he was the producer. He wanted my voice clearer and fewer guitar parts. I tried it because I wanted to try something different.”

Her trademark exuberant guitar work is still present, in fact, absent a few layers of grit, it’s even more evident. “We stripped away a lot of the layers and a lot of unnecessary interweaving guitar parts. There’s less clutter and more of staying on a part without adding too much instrumentation.” Through the subtractive production process, Marnie’s voice became more prominent, a fact that kind of concerns Marnie, “I get worried that I am coming across as someone who thinks they are a ‘singer,’ as opposed to my usual mishmash of voices that aren’t always in key,” she said about the album’s more pronounced vocals. “I grapple with that attitude because I think it’s important as a musician to try and be as proficient as possible, or try to put a lot of work into it. I suppose in my own way, I put a ton of time into singing and trying to find interesting melody ideas, I just never think of myself as having a ‘nice’ voice.” It’s an enervating change for an artist who in the past has always skillfully buried her vocals under the guitar and drum tracks.

The musical transformation evident on her new album isn’t entirely unexpected, as fans who have listened to both “For Ash” and “Every Single Line Means Something” in a single sitting know. That same slow progression can be seen between 2010’s self-titled album and the forthcoming The Chronicles of Marnia. Marnie can’t help but laugh when thinking back on her musical evolution. “I’m sure if I went from the first album to this one, I’d have a heart attack. Luckily it’s been gradual enough for me to enjoy the changes.” And there’s little doubt that her fans will too. Even as Marnie evolves from what Pitchfork called her “art-metal math-rock bubblegum pop” genre, fans will still find themselves jumping head first into the album and quickly bonding with the emotionally resonant material, cascading hooks and transcendental guitar riffs. Plus, the album shreds. She is Marnie Stern after all.

News

• City Paper features photos of Marnie Stern show at Johnny Brenda's May 11, 2013
• DCist interviews Marnie Stern May 9, 2013
• Consequence of Sound's Rock It Out Blog interviews Marnie Stern May 6, 2013
• MTV Hive's Weird Vibes features Marnie Stern in I Am Marnie Stern May 6, 2013
• Brooklyn Vegan features Marnie Stern's documentary on 'Weird Vibes' May 2, 2013
• Marnie Stern featured on WNYC's Soundcheck May 2, 2013
• Village Voice announces Marnie Stern to play 4Knots Music Festival Apr 16, 2013
• LA Music Blog reviews Marnie Stern The Chronicles of Marnia Apr 12, 2013
• Boston Globe features Marnie Stern Apr 12, 2013
• The Heeb interviews Marnie Stern Apr 10, 2013
• Chicago Reader features interview with Marnie Stern by Dave Reminick of Paper Mice Apr 9, 2013
• Marnie Stern New York show featured in The New Yorker Apr 5, 2013
• Consequence of Sound reviews Marnie Stern's The Chronicles of Marnia Apr 2, 2013
• Pitchfork premieres Marnie Stern's video for "Immortals" Mar 28, 2013
• Ad Hoc features Marnie Stern video for "Immortals" Mar 28, 2013
• Consequence of Sound features Marnie Stern's new video for, "Immortals" Mar 26, 2013
• Village Voice interviews Marnie Stern Mar 22, 2013
• PopMatters reviews Marnie Stern's The Chronicles of Marnia Mar 21, 2013
• Pitchfork reviews Marnie Stern's new album The Chronicles of Marnia Mar 20, 2013
• CMJ reviews the new album from Marnie Stern, The Chronicles of Marnia Mar 20, 2013
• NME reviews new album by Marnie Stern, The Chronicles of Marnia Mar 19, 2013
• Marnie Stern featured on Paste's 100 Great Bands to see at SXSW Mar 11, 2013
• Marnie Stern makes Spin's 40 Must-See Acts at SXSW 2013 List Mar 6, 2013
• Marnie Stern talks to Stereogum about life and new album The Chronicles of Marnia Mar 4, 2013
• Marnie Stern track "Nothing Is Easy" on NME Feb 26, 2013

Tour Dates

Date	Venue	Location	With	Tickets
Sat 6/29/2013	4 Knots Festival	New York, New York
Sat 7/13/2013	Phono del Sol Festival 2013	San Francisco, California	Thee Oh Sees, YACHT, Bleached
Thu 9/5/2013	Hopscotch Festival	Raleigh, North Carolina
Mon 9/9/2013	Fineline	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Deerhunter
Tue 9/10/2013	Metro	Chicago, Illinois	Deerhunter
Wed 9/11/2013	Beachland Ballroom	Cleveland, Ohio	Deerhunter
Thu 9/12/2013	Phoenix Concert Theatre	Toronto, Ontario	Deerhunter
Fri 9/13/2013	Skully's	Columbus, Ohio	Deerhunter
Mon 9/16/2013	Royale	Boston, Massachusetts	Deerhunter