A scant few years ago, Marnie Stern sent her ferocious punk demo to independent record label Kill Rock Stars. This critically adored hurricane of noise, In Advance of the Broken Arm, was succeeded by three more LPs—her third, The Chronicles of Marnia, is out March 19. Each puts dissonant, intricate guitar work into the service of almost shockingly tuneful face-melters, but Marnia may pack the biggest rush of any, squalling with something like a quicksilver consciousness of its own.

Despite her dedication to thunderous, unrelenting rock, Ms. Stern isn’t exactly living on the razor’s edge. She’d be the first to apologize for this, as it turns out. The good news is she’s that witty, laid-back friend who can make doing nothing pretty fun. We tagged along while she ran a few important errands around her native Upper East Side.