Porcelain Shield, Paper Sword by Mary Sue and the Clementi Sound Appreciation Club

A vacuum of meaning calls out to wisdom from the past, prompting a growing wave of young people to revert to ancient dogmas in a ravenous search for truth. The new album Porcelain Shield, Paper Sword by Mary Sue and the Clementi Sound Appreciation Club takes this desire seriously, even agreeing that ancient traditions still hold immense unrecognized value, but the band’s heterodox approach extends far beyond what any hardcore traditionalist would permit. This experimental hip hop record expands its quest for intellectual diversity into its pool of sonic influences, generally residing in the space of improvised jazz fusion while also incorporating elements of post and psychedelic rock, along with a heaping helping of traditional folk music from East and Southeast Asia to set up a refreshingly contemporary yet undoubtedly well-read aesthetic. Lyrically and conceptually, Mary Sue encourages us to scour the world’s traditional cultures for truth, putting these ancient proverbs in conversation to both recognize their individual incompleteness and to encourage the formation of more expansive, more universal, and ultimately more true traditions with which to confront contemporary chaos.