Indie cred meets approachable on adventurous new album.
Since her 2007 debut Marry Me, Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, has been perched on the periphery of mainstream music. To most, she is often seen as pretentious and insufferably artsy (not the same quasi-artsiness Lady Gaga attempted to embody on her latest outing, ARTPOP, however). Whether it’s her pre-solo career stints with the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens’ touring band, or the 2012 collaboration with Scottish musical genius David Byrne, she oozes the sort of elitist “indie cred” the masses find intimidating and inaccessible. True, the music tends to lean towards the more unconventional side of things, but as her previous three studio albums have already demonstrated, Clark’s musicianship and artistic ingenuity are simply undeniable.
Now, with her eponymous fourth album, she takes it up a notch by delivering an even more delectable listening experience through smart songwriting coupled with dazzlingly eclectic sonic influences. Helmed by prolific producer John Congleton (Bono, Erykah Badu, Bill Callahan and the Roots, to name but a few), Clark’s latest LP is her most ambitious and confident yet. Just take a gander at the cover art in which she’s sat on what could be described as a minimalistic throne, wearing a stoic, empress-like expression that’s borderline malevolent.
It is this self-assured, almost risque quality that fully manifests itself in the album’s overall production. Once Clark has issued the command, “Get back to your seats/Get back, gnashing teeth/I want all of your mind,” in the opening verse of the delightfully satirical Digital Witness, the image of her poised on that throne is promptly reinforced.
Each of the 11 songs contributes to the record in its own way. The outlandish opener Rattlesnake finds her relating a real-life encounter with the creature, singing, “I see the snake holes dotted in the sand/As if the Seurat painted the Rio Grande/
Am I the only one in the only world?” Racing alongside the synth-laded groove, she pants, “Running, running, running rattle behind me.” Birth in Reverse shocks (“Oh what an ordinary day/Take out the garbage, masturbate”), and so does I Prefer Your Love, wherein she states that she prefers her mother’s love to Jesus. Prince Johnny ebbs and flows whereas Huey Newton
hypnotises with its fascinating musings.
For the uninitiated, this album is a perfect opportunity to get acquainted with Annie Clark and her music under the name St Vincent. It’s lyrically savvy and musically inventive, yet teeming with enough pop appeal to please hook-inclined listeners. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing since Clark, who has long carved out her own musical path, triumphantly delivers on all fronts with this record. n
THE PLAYLIST
Sa Hai Hang Sai Lom/ Kae Peang
Taking a breather from manning the guitar for the established indie rock band Desktop Error, Sumeth “Bird” Puang-Ok is dabbling in solo project Sa Hai Hang Sai Lom, and Kae Peang is the first single. Simple in its arrangement and instrumentation, Kae Peang is a tender acoustic number where Bird showcases his skills on the phin (northeastern traditional guitar) while churning out beautiful lyrics about wanting the best for his lover and yearning to be close to her.
Patti Smith and the Kronos Quartet/ Mercy Is
Fittingly accompanying the recently released biblical epic Noah is this collaboration between punk legend Patti Smith and classical experimentalists the Kronos Quartet. Enveloped in the cry of strings, Mercy Is swells with hymn-like solemnity as Smith quietly mourns the Apocalypse and sings of its aftermath: “The sky is high, the Earth is green/And cool below your feet, so swiftly now beneath the bough/Your father waits for thee, to wrap you in his healing arms.” Given such stirring lyrics and the powerful storyline, it’s a challenge not to get swept away by the emotion.
Ed Sheeran/ Sing
The British acoustic troubadour’s latest offering starts off sounding uncannily like the Flight of the Conchords theme song with the strummed guitar and bubbling drum machine. Then as Sheeran delivers the first verse, Justin Timberlake’s super urban-funk hit Like I Love You instantly comes to mind — not surprising considering the culprit here is none other than producer-of-the-hour Pharrell Williams. Compared to his earlier material, Sing oozes the kind of Top 40 pop appeal that involves a whole lot of falsetto and someone randomly shouting something (“Sing!”). It is incredibly catchy, whether you like it or not.
Sia/ Chandelier
In-demand songwriter Sia has supplied the charts with more than a handful of smash hits over the years, including David Guetta’s Titanium, Flo Rida’s Wild Ones, Rihanna’s Diamonds, Britney Spears’ Perfume and Beyonce’s Pretty Hurts. Now she’s back with Chandelier, a new single from her upcoming sixth album, and it’s pure pop explosion. Over the Rihanna-esque, reggae-inflected beat, Sia belts out “I’m gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier/I’m gonna live like tomorrow doesn’t exist, like it doesn’t exist” before taking it to church with her chill-inducing vocals: “I’m gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry.”
John Martin/ Anywhere For You
Lovers of electronic dance music may recall John Martin’s vocals on Swedish House Mafia’s smash chart-topping hit Don’t You Worry Child, among other notable club anthems. Looking to embark on a solo career, the singer from Stockholm has released Anywhere For You, his first solo single from his forthcoming debut solo album. It's a shame, but there’s nothing new nor original about this track. What is even worse is that its formulaic predictability is almost cringe-worthy. Does the world really need yet another song that harps on about feeling young forever? n
