Marder was a catalyst for proto-riot grrrls LiLiPUT and Kleenex.
Marder (center) was a catalyst for proto-riot grrrls LiLiPUT and Kleenex.

News is surfacing that guitarist Marlene Marder (real name: Marlenee Marti) of Swiss post-punk greats and proto-riot grrrls LiLiPUT (formerly Kleenex) died May 15 at age 61. Cause of death is currently unknown. Marder's incisive tone and coiled riffs helped to define LiLiPUT and Kleenex's galvanizing songs. Kurt Cobain, for one, was a staunch LiLiPUT/Kleenex fan, and they earned critical acclaim from first-wave American critics like Greil Marcus and Robert Christgau. Kill Rock Stars helpfully collected 46 of LiLiPUT/Kleenex's songs cut from 1978-1983 on two CDs in 2001. Portland-based Mississippi Records later reissued those songs as a four-LP box set. I first encountered Kleenex via the 1980 Rough Trade compilation Wanna Buy a Bridge. Their track "Ain't You" hit me like a flamethrower, as its odd combo of contrasting vocal deliveries, bulging glam-punk guitar riffs, and weirdly surging dynamics cohered into a righteous anthem. The song is at once as serious as injustice and as whimsical as a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch. And there were dozens more almost as gripping in those groups' catalogs. LiLiPUT/Kleenex's empowering influence continues to be heard in today's underground-rock scene. RIP, Marlene Marder.