St. Vincent, 'St. Vincent'

By: David Savage

I’m hopping on the bus a little late on this one, but St. Vincent’s new record, St. Vincent, is brilliant. As soon as the first track, “Rattlesnake”, begins you are set up for a fun synth-pop dance record. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this artist, St. Vincent is the stage name of Annie Clark. NPR Music did an interview with Annie Clark, about the new record, which was an interesting insight to the foundation and depths of the album. A busy Annie Clark stated that “I got home and I started writing this record about 36 hours after I finished a year of touring [with David Byrne]”.

The instrumentation is really intriguing and “You get the feel of a human, but the sound of a machine”, according to St. Vincent in the NPR Music interview. The band is playing these instruments, but the sounds get tweaked, pushing the boundaries of your typical instrument, like the guitar. “Digital Witness” may or may not be a horn-heavy cut or it’s simply the electric guitar being dressed up to sound like a horn section, but regardless of the fact, this song is so catchy and probably describing herself with the lyrics “what’s the point of even sleeping?”, seeing as St. Vincent never stops writing and touring.

Right in the middle the album, “I Prefer Your Love” takes a breather from the upbeat, catchy, dance-rock tunes, with a soft symphony with Annie’s voice singing out “I prefer your love to Jesus”, surrounded by strings and a smooth crisp beat. This ode to her mother has beautiful lyricism, “Sure as mother licking her finger/ wipe the blush and smudge from my cheek and/ wonder what will become of your little one”. Lyrically this song is powerful and the instrumentation only further exemplifies the strength of this song.

St. Vincent gives a combination of hard rock and synth-pop in a way that seems truly unique and original. St. Vincent’s fourth (fifth if you’re counting Love This Giant) album, St Vincent, is a magnificent medley of synth-pop, dance, and rock that plays out so wonderfully, ending with the nostalgic “Severed  Crossed Fingers”. If you haven’t heard this record yet I strongly suggest that you do so. 

Favorite Tracks: "I Prefer Your Love", "Rattlesnake" and "Digital Witness"