St Vincent: Self-Titled ALBUM REVIEW

St Vincent is the moniker of guitarist and songwriter, Annie Clark, and for the last handful of years has been going through a fairly interesting evolution. In 2007 she released Marry Me, an that followed more closely the likes of Sufjan Stevens, or any number of baroque-pop tinged indie acts. However, on her next two LPs, especially Strange Mercy, (my personal favorite) Annie started to show more of her freakish side. This included the addition of drum machines and some of the most intricate and searing guitar leads to ever find their way into a song backed with orchestral instrumentation. Songs like "Marrow" or "Cruel" really showed just how far Annie was willing to take this sweet/ sour dynamic. 

That leads us to her latest LP; a self titled album that shows her pulling back the reins a bit on her straight guitar worship, and indulging in a little more weirdness. Lead single "Birth In Reverse" is perhaps the most punked-out Annie has been since her 7" single "Krokadile", and features a fantastically evocative first line.

The second single to come from this LP "Digital Witness" is a jerky, horn laced song that seems to tell of the dangers of our technology obsessed age, but does it with enough ambiguity to keep it from seeming cheesy or preachy. The horns on this track and a few other tracks on this LP remind me of the collaborative album that St Vincent did with David Byrne, but without the overblown sense of trying to be "out there". 

Other songs I really enjoyed on this album include the opener "Rattlesnake" which reminded me of some moments off of Strange Mercy, but with  more groove oriented percussion. The track "Huey Newton" gives me the same feeling, however, this track goes in a far more aggressive direction towards the end where it kicks into a stomping guitar lead and hard rock esque drums. 

While I truly enjoyed nearly all of this LP there were a couple of tracks that just didn't click with me. Namely, the two tracks with "Love" in their titles, and to some extent the track "Every Tear Disappears" which just didn't sway me one way or the other. Overall, I'd say this album was well worth giving a thorough listen, and is sure to be in rotation throughout the year whenever I'm feeling a little weird inside.

8.5/10