Marnie Stern

Like a post-millennial “Baba O’Riley”, opener “For Ash” kicks off Marnie Stern’s third album with exquisite fanfare, a cavalcade of keening guitar notes and hurtling drumbeats rushing skyward to an emotional climax. Stern expands on her trademark instrumental wizardry, adding sophisticated nuances: “Building a Body” teases chunky riffs into a composition that fuses math rock and R&B; “Risky Biz” is a marvel of soul-searching power pop; and “For Ash”, for all that sonic ecstasy, is a eulogy in rock ‘n’ roll form.