MARNIE STERN

It’s been a decade since we last heard from Marnie Stern, but when her guitar bursts in like a shower of stardust on 'The Comeback Kid', the follow-up to 2013’s 'The Chronicles of Marnia', it’s like no time has passed.

But this is no nostalgia trip. The Comeback Kid is a statement of intent. “I can’t keep on moving backwards,” Stern repeats on anthemic opening track “Plain Speak,” her fingers furiously tapping the fretboard as the song joyfully zips forward like a rocket hitting warp speed. Stern continually pushes herself outside of her comfort zone throughout The Comeback Kid, including not leaning on the tapping technique that launched a thousand Eddie Van Halen comparisons. “Til It’s Over” is as straight-ahead an “alternative rock” song as Stern has ever made and there’s a cover of Ennio Morricone’s “Il Girotondo Della Note.” riyl - The Breeders, Water From Your Eyes, Blonde Redhead, Royal Trux, Yoko Ono