I remember once having this really bizarre dream that I was being chased by giant pimento olives around a canyon, and when I woke up I couldn’t decide if it was a nightmare or the best experience I’ve ever had. But then later in the day I realized that—even though it was kind of terrifying—I was hoping I would have the same dream again just because it was so cool. That was pretty much my first impression of Marnie Stern’s latest album, This Is It…, which came out October 7th. It’s her second album, following her first from last year entitled In Advance of the Broken Arm, and it is CRA-ZY. She’s originally from New York, which makes total sense, because this album truly is like Times Square in musical form. It’s filled with equally thrilling guitar and vocal shrieks and heavy drum punches that really will knock the wind out of you. Her musical engineering and sound is intensely complex—as complex as my last religion midterm, even. But, unlike my midterm, this complexity actually works. Pitchfork gave this album the prestigious title of “Best New Music,” and I must agree. This Is It… might not be sure to please, exactly, but it will definitely make your dreams a lot more interesting.

You can check out Marnie Stern live in Seattle at the Triple Door on November 10th, or November 12th at Berbati’s Pan in Portland.



And P.S. On her Myspace you can find her mashup of Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss”…um, it blows my mind.