Marnie Stern – Broadcast, Glasgow 02/06/13

First things first: Marnie Stern is probably the most gifted and thrilling guitarist (alongside Wilco’s Nels Cline) that I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch. I’ve never been much of a fan of that whole guitar “tapping” technique but I’m willing to forget anything I’ve said about it in the past on the evidence of Stern’s virtuosity in front of a very happy Glasgow crowd.

Before I get to Stern’s set, though, the crowd’s happy state was in no small part thanks to a terrific support turn from Leeds’ [do action=“secondary-artist”]Sky Larkin. Playing a set leaning heavily on songs from their as-yet-unreleased third album, Katie Harkin and co served up a timely reminder of how brilliant indie guitar music can be – just a clutch of great songs staying true to the template of satisfyingly powerful guitars set against Harkin’s cool and crisp vocals. Whenever that third record drops, it’ll be quite a treat.

But back to Stern; The New Yorker is now four albums in with the loyal Kill Rock Stars label, each one being a step forward from the last but all dominated by Stern’s individualistic playing and ear for a pop melody – it’s clear she’s got as much of a love for bubblegum pop as she does for awkward math rock .

Backed by affable bassist Nithin Kalvakota, who gets the crowd laughing with the tale of Marnie’s attempt to buy a “fanny pack” from a naturally confused Scottish shop assistant, and hard-hitting new drummer Joe Wong (formerly of Parts & Labor, and as powerful a sticksman as Stern collaborators Zach Hill and Kid Millions) she launched straight into the title track from most recent album, the excellent The Chronicles of Marnia. Although poppier than its predecessor, Marnia is still an exercise in fret fireworks and from the moment she drops her first “taps” the music becomes an explosion of colour as much as sound.

It’s a heady brew of prog-punk-math-pop which, above all, succeeds in putting a smile on your face – this is triumphant music, backed up by the none-more-apt title of the evening’s second song ‘Hell Yes’; pitched somewhere between Don Caballero, 80’s cock rock and Sleater-Kinney it could end up a riotous clatter but in Stern’s dextrous hands it’s a thing of wonder. She then delves into the back catalogue for a couple of more fried and unpredictable tracks, ‘Transformer’ and ‘Risky Biz’. Jitterier than the songs from Marnia, they’re anchored somewhat by Wong’s stunning drumming and ability to predict where Stern is heading next – and keep up with her.

While some may point to Stern’s voice being a weak point it’s more a case of getting used to the way she uses (think switching between Juliana Hatfield-esque high vulnerability to throat-shredding yaps and yelps akin to Carrie Brownstein) to match what’s she playing at any given point, and when you do reach that understanding then it simply adds an extra layer of enjoyment.

Blasting through the euphoric ‘Nothing Is Easy’ and ‘Year of the Glad’ brought us to the high point of this (or any) Marnie Stern show: ‘The Crippled Jazzer’. Switching between bright finger taps and head-banging stoner rock riffs it was a stunning way – bonus encore of ‘Transparency Is the New Mystery’ not withstanding – to end the show, which the two lads going absolutely bonkers at the front each time the main riff dropped back in, can happily attest to.

Despite having released records since 2007’s In Advance of the Broken Arm there’s a real feeling that Marnie Stern is still developing, still improving, and certainly not afraid of experimenting with her music. The songs, which are without doubt brilliant on record, start to become something close to transcendent when played live, and the energy and happy abandon of Stern simply adds to it. This was the very definition of pure joy.