St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark, has had a dramatic few years. Her eponymous fourth LP made her reputation internationally as a gifted musical auteur. Then, a romance with the world’s most famous supermodel, Cara Delevingne, catapulted her into the strange position of being a tabloid concern; one British paper branding her the ‘female Bowie’.
Her latest album, ‘MASSEDUCTION’ is a reaction to these complicated, emotionally charged times and is performed with a great deal of wit, wisdom and dramatic candour. It presents a fully fledged recording artist with a distinctive, important voice.
Wistful stage ballad, New York features the brilliant Elvis Costello-esque line; ‘You’re the only motherfucker in the city that can stand me’, while Slow Disco sees Clark elegantly weaving a sonic tapestry of sadness and quietness amid strings and choral backing. It recalls some of the sorrowful ecstasy of Sigur Rós’ early work, or, at a push, Björk’s recordings with the Brodsky Quartet.
Elsewhere, we have Clark’s signature disco guitar-tronica on the superb title track and also Los Ageless, which carries another marvellous lyrical hook; ‘How can anybody have you and not lose their mind too?’, providing one of the most shamelessly singalong moments on the record.
‘MASSEDUCTION’ manages to avoid the feeling of easy creative choices and that might be its main limitation. This album is good but not great, and the suspicion surrounding her previous album - that St. Vincent might be a more interesting performer than she is a composer - remains in place despite repeat plays.
St Vincent Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Fri October 20 2017 - DUBLIN Olympia
Sat October 21 2017 - DUBLIN Olympia
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