Marnie Stern: s/t

Label: Kill Rock Stars

While exhilarating, Marnie Stern's first two albums felt at times like they were constantly reminding us of her guitar prowess -- which, it has to be said, is straight-up flabbergasting. Her third record, that precise place in an artist's career where a self-titled record comes across as a declarative statement, is where Stern shows the growth as a songwriter to accompany her ever-increasing skill as a guitarist. "Transparency Is the New Mystery," besides being a fantastic name for a song, displays this better-than-ever Marnie: a sing-songy guitar line flows right into a thoughtful lyric (suggested by the title) and then opens into a superbly arranged rock song, a rousing tug-of-love of vocal, guitar and drums (presumably played by the comparably fierce Zach Hill). "Female Guitar Players Are the New Black" -- yeah, Stern's that awesome -- raises the intensity, building an equally full song around her manic finger-tap style of playing, the result suggesting M.I.A. in rock mode (and like, ten times more talented). And a song like "Her Confidence" could not be explained, it has to be heard. But if Stern makes excellent records for years to come, this one will mark the point where she went from being good to great. (M.L. Thrope)