What's not to love about a blazing indie-guitar heroine who titles her album The Chronicles of Marnia? This New York singer-guitarist's records keep getting more nuanced and revealing, without losing a hint of the radiantly hyper finger-picking energy that sometimes makes her sound like Robert Fripp sitting in with Sleater-Kinney. Here, she locks into an artfully flailing two-piece with drummer Kid Millions of Brooklyn noise captains Oneida. At times, her singing is a fire-tongued vocalese; elsewhere, she drops admissions like "I am losing my hope in my body," evincing bold honesty that only deepens the all-too-human achievement of her empowered shredding.

“More Than a Feeling”

Boston mastermind Tom Scholz was as surprised by anyone when he sent his unsolicited demo to record labels and got back a positive response. Scholz said, “I couldn’t believe it. Nobody knew who we were, so I wouldn’t even say we were struggling. It was groveling.” Part of the credit for the interest must go to the anthemic rock number "More Than a Feeling." Inspired by the Left Banke's 1966 hit "Walk Away Renee," Scholz worked on the song for five years in his basement studio before it was released on this album.