| St. Vincent |
Masseduction |
Loma Vista/Caroline International |
13 October, 2017 |
St. Vincent — Masseduction (13 October, 2017) 
♠ Abrasive, nuanced pop. “Ztratil jsem hrdinu Ztratil jsem přítele Ale pro tebe, miláčku, udělám to všechno znovu.”
♠ Annie Clark’s fifth album is a taut, meticulous triumph, blessed with a wealth of fantastic songs, ideas and sounds.
© →→ St. Vincent in the Oct. 2017
Birthname: Annie Erin Clark
Born: Sep 28, 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, theremin
Location: New York
Album release: 13 October, 2017
Studio: Electric Lady Studios, (New York) Rough Consumer Studio, (Brooklyn) Compound Fracture, (Los Angeles)
Genre: Pop Baroque pop new wave ambient rock electropop techno
Styles: Alternative Singer~Songwriter, Alternative~Indie Rock, Pop
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Pink
Record Label: Loma Vista/Caroline International
Duration: 41:44
Tracks:
01. Hang On Me 2:49
02. Pills 4:41
03. Masseduction 3:18
04. Sugarboy 4:02
05. Los Ageless 4:41
06. Happy Birthday, Johnny 2:58
07. Savior 3:27
08. New York 2:35
09. Fear The Future 2:32
10. Young Lover 3:34
11. Dancing With A Ghost 0:46
12. Slow Disco 2:45
13. Smoking Section 3:37
℗© 2017 Loma Vista Recordings.
♠ All tracks written by Annie Clark and produced by Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent, except where noted.
♠ Track 2: Clark, Antonoff, Mark Anthony Spears
♠ Tracks 3, 4, 6: Clark, Antonoff
♠ Track 12: Clark, Joy Williams
Credits:
♠ Lars Stalfors — Co~producer (tracks: A3, B4)
♠ Willo Perron & Associates — Creative Director
♠ Nonot — Design [Package]
♠ Laura Sisk — Engineer
♠ Alonzo Lazaro — Engineer [Additional] (tracks: A2, B3),
♠ Annie Clark, Brent Arrowwood — Engineer [Additional] (tracks: A2, B3)
♠ Jack Antonoff, Miro Mackie — Engineer [Additional] (tracks: A3)
♠ Sean Cook — Engineer Additional]
♠ Brandon Bost — Engineer [Mix] (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B2, B5 to B7)
♠ Caesar Edmunds — Engineer [Mix] (tracks: A3, B3, B4)
♠ Ray Janos — Lacquer Cut
♠ Lever And Beam — Management
♠ Chris Gehringer — Mastered
♠ Catherine Marks — Mixed Catherine Marks (tracks: A3, B3, B4)
♠ Tom Elmhirst — Mixed (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B2, B5 to B7)
♠ Nedda Afsari — Photography
♠ Jack Antonoff, St. Vincent — Producer
♠ John Congleton — Producer [Additional] (tracks: A2, B1, B3)
Personnel / Details:
A1 Hang On Me 2:49
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Programmed, Bass, Mellotron
→ A. Clark — Written
A2 Pills 4:41
→ Mike Elizondo — Bass
→ Adam Pickrell, Sounwave — Programmed
→ Evan Smith, Kamasi Washington — Saxophone
→ Daniel Mintseris — Synth
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Piano, Bass, Drums, Programmed
→ Annie Clark, Kid Monkey, Jenny Lewis — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff, M. A. Spears — Written
A3 Masseduction 3:18
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Programmed
→ Toko Yasuda — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff — Written
A4 Sugarboy 4:02
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Synth, Bass
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Programmed
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff — Written
A5 Los Ageless 4:41
→ Tuck Andress — Guitar
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Greg Leisz — Pedal Steel Guitar
→ Evan Smith — Saxophone
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Programmed
→ Patti Andress — Vocals
→ A. Clark — Written
A6 Happy Birthday, Johnny 2:58
→ Greg Leisz — Pedal Steel Guitar
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth
→ Annie Clark — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff — Written
B1 Savior 3:27
→ Pino Palladino— Bass
→ Tuck Andress — Guitar
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Bobby Sparks — Keyboards
→ Greg Leisz — Pedal Steel Guitar
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Programmed
→ Daniel Mintseris — Synth
→ Patti Andress — Vocals
→ A. Clark — Written
B2 New York 2:35
→ Philip A. Peterson — Cello
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Programmed
→ Timothy Garland — Violin
→ Annie Clark — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff — Written
B3 Fear The Future 2:32
→ Mike Elizondo — Bass
→ Jack Antonoff — Drums, Programmed, Synth
→ Tuck Andress — Guitar
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Daniel Mintseris, Thomas Bartlett — Synth
→ A. Clark — Written
B4 Young Lover 3:34
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth
→ Lars Stalfors — Synth, Programmed
→ A. Clark — Written
B5 Dancing With A Ghost 0:46
→ Jack Antonoff — Arranged [Strings], Synth
→ Evan Smith — Saxophone
→ Margot — Strings
→ Annie Clark — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Williams — Written
B6 Slow Disco 2:45
→ Jack Antonoff — Arranged [Strings], Synth, Programmed
→ Evan Smith — Saxophone
→ Margot — Strings
→ Annie Clark — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Williams — Written
B7 Smoking Section 3:37
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Greg Leisz, Rich Hinman — Pedal Steel Guitar
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Programmed
→ Patti Andress — Vocals
→ A. Clark — Written
Review scores:
♠ AllMusic: 4.5/5 stars
♠ DIY: 5/5 stars
♠ Drowned in Sound: 9/10
♠ The Line of Best Fit: 9.5/10
♠ Mojo: 4/5 stars
♠ MusicOMH: 5/5 stars
♠ Q: 4/5 stars
♠ The Skinny: 5/5 stars
♠ Uncut: 4/5 stars
♠ The Guardian: 4/5 stars
Review
By Emily Mackay, Oct 11, 2017; Score: ****
ψ Annie Clark gets personal on a clutch of tales about power and lust
ψ Three years ago, Annie Clark sent out an “autumn hello” to her newsletter subscribers. “Last night,” she recounted, “I attended a party meant to celebrate ‘fashion’ where I felt woefully out of place. I, however, am not one to look a gift horse full of champagne in the mouth. So I grabbed a couple and began chatting up the most interesting~looking person in the room.”
ψ That night, fame’s gift horse presented her with a retired police officer’s stories about 9/11. Shortly after, St Vincent passed from champagne receptions into the inner sanctum of high celebrity, thanks in part to her relationship with Cara Delevingne, and had a strange few years. ‘Masseduction’ is the result, another gift from fame’s fickle filly, a clutch of tales about power, lust and spectacle.
ψ This time, though, the subject is St Vincent herself, from the softly spoken, synth~fogged desperation of opener ‘Hang On Me’ (“I cannot stop the aeroplane from crashing”) to an out~of~control paramour ODing in a bathtub on ‘Young Lover’, to ‘Pills’, a witty, madcap sketch of self~medication. “I heard the tales: fortune and blame,” she confides. “Tigers and wolves, defanged by fame”. An eruption of fat, fuzzy squiggling guitar confirms her intention to disrupt the cautionary~tale narrative. Yet amid thrusting, shunting funk and slideshow of surreal desires, the title track heartily acknowledges complicity in the great sex sale: “I can’t turn off what turns me on,” she wails.
ψ It might all be a bit Introductory Media Studies if ‘Masseduction’ wasn’t, firstly, so much fun and, secondly, so personal. Perhaps the closest to home of all is ‘Happy Birthday, Johnny’: pedal steel, delicate piano and heart’s blood, and the memory of “you’ve changed” recriminations from loved ones. ‘Smoking Section’ ends on a dark night of the soul, but the final refrain is “it’s not the end”. The horror stories are dodged, and St Vincent goes on. She’s due, next year, to direct a film adaptation of The Picture Of Dorian Gray; in ‘Masseduction’ we already have both Dorian and his portrait: the fox on the album’s cover, all rampant neons, stockinged legs, and taut flesh, and the inner ravaging — material just too good to keep in the attic.
ψ http://www.nme.com/
Review
Rachel Aroesti, Thursday 12 October 2017 22.00 BST; Score: ****
ψ Mechanical beats and abrasive synths underpinned by producer Jack Antonoff’s feedback~pocked soundbed~of~nails: Annie Clark’s sixth album as St Vincent is not immediately inviting. But it is fascinating, sometimes grimly so, with Clark relating scenes from a relationship with a drugged~up Young Lover. But the frank confessions — of transgressive desire, pathological anxiety and romantic rejection — that pepper Masseduction transcend gossipy intrigue. (Inevitably, people will assume some of the material is inspired by her breakup with ex~girlfriend Cara Delevingne.) Sonically, the record gradually unfurls into something similarly captivating though, as Clark ditches the guitar rock for pop that is rich, nuanced and constantly surprising. Single songs journey across genres — Pills, for example, begins resembling a bass~heavy remix of a nursery rhyme and ends up a big ballad with a Kamasi Washington sax section — while bizarrely amusing ingredients are continually added to the pot, from parodically funky synth lines to shrill vocal gymnastics that would have Mariah Carey cowering on her chaise lounge. ψ https://www.theguardian.com/
AllMusic Review by Heather Phares; Score: ****½
ψ If Masseduction is any indication, the success St. Vincent’s Annie Clark had with her self~titled breakthrough album — which included a Grammy for Best Alternative Album, playing with Nirvana at their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a long~running, electrifying tour — almost led to a breakdown. Fortunately, for an artist as keenly observant as Clark, personal chaos counts as professional field research, and on her fifth album she weaponizes the trappings of her acclaim. Working with an in~demand producer (Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff, who has also shaped sounds for Lorde and Taylor Swift) and all~star collaborators including Kamasi Washington, Jenny Lewis, and Mike Elizondo, on Masseduction she creates a pop version of St. Vincent that’s bigger and shinier — but definitely not simpler. In its own way, it’s just as complex as her previous album, and as its sound gets more lurid and massive, its songs get more revealing and anxious. “Hang on Me,” which begins the album by comparing a relationship to a plane crash, is the first of many songs to go down in flames. On the title track, Clark sounds increasingly unhinged as she repeats the album’s mission statement — “I can’t turn off what turns me on” — over gleaming synths, outlandish guitars, and barely human harmonies. Here and on the deceptively sleek “Sugarboy,” where she describes herself as “a casualty hanging from the balcony,” she crafts potent cocktails of desire and destruction. Clark also transcends the familiarity of Masseduction’s tropes just as skillfully as she subverts pop music’s conventions. The perky irony of “Pills”’ ode to pharmaceuticals could be clichéd if its speedy verses weren’t followed by a narcotized coda featuring Washington’s woozily beautiful saxophone. Similarly, Clark finds new wrinkles on sexuality and boundaries on the Prince~ly “Savior” and injects new life into the tale of a partner’s OD on “Young Lover,” hitting wailing high notes that are equally fantastical and desperate. These cracking veneers allow more glimpses of real feeling than ever before in St. Vincent’s music, most strikingly on “Happy Birthday, Johnny,” a throwback to Marry Me’s piano pop that finds a longtime friend calling Clark a sellout, and “New York,” a farewell to a changing town and changing relationships. Even the glossy satire of “Los Ageless” is punctuated by whispered confessions (“I try to write you a love song but it comes out a lament”) and limpid steel guitar that melts the rigidity of its beats, a motif that runs through the album. By the time Masseduction closes with the one~two punch of “Slow Disco”’s bittersweet knowledge that it’s time to leave “the bay of mistakes” and the glowering self~destruction of “Smoking Section,” Masseduction delivers sketches of chaos with stunning clarity. It’s the work of an always savvy artist at her wittiest and saddest. ψ https://www.allmusic.com/
Musical style:
ψ Clark’s music has been noted for its wide array of instruments and complex arrangements, as well as its polysemous lyrics, which have been described as teetering between “happiness and madness”. In response to this, Clark has said, “I like when things come out of nowhere and blindside you a little bit. I think any person who gets panic attacks or has an anxiety disorder can understand how things can all of a sudden turn very quickly. I think I’m sublimating that into the music.”
ψ In addition to guitar, Clark also plays bass, piano, organ and theremin. Her music also often features violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, clarinets and other instruments. Her unorthodox musical style has been characterized by critics as a mixture of chamber rock, pop, indie rock, and cabaret jazz.
ψ As of late 2011, her electric guitar pedal board included the following: Korg PitchBlack, DBA Interstellar Overdriver Supreme, ZVex Mastotron Fuzz, Eventide Pitchfactor, Eventide Space, BOSS PS~Super Shifter, Moog EP~2 Expression Pedal. All her pedals are controlled by a MasterMind MIDI Foot Controller. She frequently plays a 1967 Harmony H17 Bobkat electric guitar.
Website: http://ilovestvincent.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/st_vincent
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/St.Vincent
★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★
| St. Vincent |
Masseduction |
Loma Vista/Caroline International |
13 October, 2017 |
♠ Annie Clark’s fifth album is a taut, meticulous triumph, blessed with a wealth of fantastic songs, ideas and sounds.
Birthname: Annie Erin Clark
Born: Sep 28, 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Instruments: Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, theremin
Location: New York
Album release: 13 October, 2017
Studio: Electric Lady Studios, (New York) Rough Consumer Studio, (Brooklyn) Compound Fracture, (Los Angeles)
Genre: Pop Baroque pop new wave ambient rock electropop techno
Styles: Alternative Singer~Songwriter, Alternative~Indie Rock, Pop
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Pink
Record Label: Loma Vista/Caroline International
Duration: 41:44
Tracks:
01. Hang On Me 2:49
02. Pills 4:41
03. Masseduction 3:18
04. Sugarboy 4:02
05. Los Ageless 4:41
06. Happy Birthday, Johnny 2:58
07. Savior 3:27
08. New York 2:35
09. Fear The Future 2:32
10. Young Lover 3:34
11. Dancing With A Ghost 0:46
12. Slow Disco 2:45
13. Smoking Section 3:37
℗© 2017 Loma Vista Recordings.
♠ All tracks written by Annie Clark and produced by Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent, except where noted.
♠ Track 2: Clark, Antonoff, Mark Anthony Spears
♠ Tracks 3, 4, 6: Clark, Antonoff
♠ Track 12: Clark, Joy Williams
Credits:
♠ Lars Stalfors — Co~producer (tracks: A3, B4)
♠ Willo Perron & Associates — Creative Director
♠ Nonot — Design [Package]
♠ Laura Sisk — Engineer
♠ Alonzo Lazaro — Engineer [Additional] (tracks: A2, B3),
♠ Annie Clark, Brent Arrowwood — Engineer [Additional] (tracks: A2, B3)
♠ Jack Antonoff, Miro Mackie — Engineer [Additional] (tracks: A3)
♠ Sean Cook — Engineer Additional]
♠ Brandon Bost — Engineer [Mix] (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B2, B5 to B7)
♠ Caesar Edmunds — Engineer [Mix] (tracks: A3, B3, B4)
♠ Ray Janos — Lacquer Cut
♠ Lever And Beam — Management
♠ Chris Gehringer — Mastered
♠ Catherine Marks — Mixed Catherine Marks (tracks: A3, B3, B4)
♠ Tom Elmhirst — Mixed (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B2, B5 to B7)
♠ Nedda Afsari — Photography
♠ Jack Antonoff, St. Vincent — Producer
♠ John Congleton — Producer [Additional] (tracks: A2, B1, B3)
A1 Hang On Me 2:49
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Programmed, Bass, Mellotron
→ A. Clark — Written
A2 Pills 4:41
→ Mike Elizondo — Bass
→ Adam Pickrell, Sounwave — Programmed
→ Evan Smith, Kamasi Washington — Saxophone
→ Daniel Mintseris — Synth
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Piano, Bass, Drums, Programmed
→ Annie Clark, Kid Monkey, Jenny Lewis — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff, M. A. Spears — Written
A3 Masseduction 3:18
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Programmed
→ Toko Yasuda — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff — Written
A4 Sugarboy 4:02
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Synth, Bass
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Programmed
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff — Written
A5 Los Ageless 4:41
→ Tuck Andress — Guitar
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Greg Leisz — Pedal Steel Guitar
→ Evan Smith — Saxophone
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Programmed
→ Patti Andress — Vocals
→ A. Clark — Written
A6 Happy Birthday, Johnny 2:58
→ Greg Leisz — Pedal Steel Guitar
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth
→ Annie Clark — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff — Written
B1 Savior 3:27
→ Pino Palladino— Bass
→ Tuck Andress — Guitar
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Bobby Sparks — Keyboards
→ Greg Leisz — Pedal Steel Guitar
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Programmed
→ Daniel Mintseris — Synth
→ Patti Andress — Vocals
→ A. Clark — Written
B2 New York 2:35
→ Philip A. Peterson — Cello
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Programmed
→ Timothy Garland — Violin
→ Annie Clark — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Antonoff — Written
B3 Fear The Future 2:32
→ Mike Elizondo — Bass
→ Jack Antonoff — Drums, Programmed, Synth
→ Tuck Andress — Guitar
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Daniel Mintseris, Thomas Bartlett — Synth
→ A. Clark — Written
B4 Young Lover 3:34
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth
→ Lars Stalfors — Synth, Programmed
→ A. Clark — Written
B5 Dancing With A Ghost 0:46
→ Jack Antonoff — Arranged [Strings], Synth
→ Evan Smith — Saxophone
→ Margot — Strings
→ Annie Clark — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Williams — Written
B6 Slow Disco 2:45
→ Jack Antonoff — Arranged [Strings], Synth, Programmed
→ Evan Smith — Saxophone
→ Margot — Strings
→ Annie Clark — Vocals
→ A. Clark, J. Williams — Written
B7 Smoking Section 3:37
→ Annie Clark — Guitar, Vocals
→ Greg Leisz, Rich Hinman — Pedal Steel Guitar
→ Thomas Bartlett — Piano
→ Jack Antonoff — Synth, Programmed
→ Patti Andress — Vocals
→ A. Clark — Written
Review scores:
♠ AllMusic: 4.5/5 stars
♠ DIY: 5/5 stars
♠ Drowned in Sound: 9/10
♠ The Line of Best Fit: 9.5/10
♠ Mojo: 4/5 stars
♠ MusicOMH: 5/5 stars
♠ Q: 4/5 stars
♠ The Skinny: 5/5 stars
♠ Uncut: 4/5 stars
♠ The Guardian: 4/5 stars
Review
By Emily Mackay, Oct 11, 2017; Score: ****
ψ Annie Clark gets personal on a clutch of tales about power and lust
ψ Three years ago, Annie Clark sent out an “autumn hello” to her newsletter subscribers. “Last night,” she recounted, “I attended a party meant to celebrate ‘fashion’ where I felt woefully out of place. I, however, am not one to look a gift horse full of champagne in the mouth. So I grabbed a couple and began chatting up the most interesting~looking person in the room.”
ψ That night, fame’s gift horse presented her with a retired police officer’s stories about 9/11. Shortly after, St Vincent passed from champagne receptions into the inner sanctum of high celebrity, thanks in part to her relationship with Cara Delevingne, and had a strange few years. ‘Masseduction’ is the result, another gift from fame’s fickle filly, a clutch of tales about power, lust and spectacle.
ψ This time, though, the subject is St Vincent herself, from the softly spoken, synth~fogged desperation of opener ‘Hang On Me’ (“I cannot stop the aeroplane from crashing”) to an out~of~control paramour ODing in a bathtub on ‘Young Lover’, to ‘Pills’, a witty, madcap sketch of self~medication. “I heard the tales: fortune and blame,” she confides. “Tigers and wolves, defanged by fame”. An eruption of fat, fuzzy squiggling guitar confirms her intention to disrupt the cautionary~tale narrative. Yet amid thrusting, shunting funk and slideshow of surreal desires, the title track heartily acknowledges complicity in the great sex sale: “I can’t turn off what turns me on,” she wails.
ψ It might all be a bit Introductory Media Studies if ‘Masseduction’ wasn’t, firstly, so much fun and, secondly, so personal. Perhaps the closest to home of all is ‘Happy Birthday, Johnny’: pedal steel, delicate piano and heart’s blood, and the memory of “you’ve changed” recriminations from loved ones. ‘Smoking Section’ ends on a dark night of the soul, but the final refrain is “it’s not the end”. The horror stories are dodged, and St Vincent goes on. She’s due, next year, to direct a film adaptation of The Picture Of Dorian Gray; in ‘Masseduction’ we already have both Dorian and his portrait: the fox on the album’s cover, all rampant neons, stockinged legs, and taut flesh, and the inner ravaging — material just too good to keep in the attic.
ψ http://www.nme.com/
Review
Rachel Aroesti, Thursday 12 October 2017 22.00 BST; Score: ****
ψ Mechanical beats and abrasive synths underpinned by producer Jack Antonoff’s feedback~pocked soundbed~of~nails: Annie Clark’s sixth album as St Vincent is not immediately inviting. But it is fascinating, sometimes grimly so, with Clark relating scenes from a relationship with a drugged~up Young Lover. But the frank confessions — of transgressive desire, pathological anxiety and romantic rejection — that pepper Masseduction transcend gossipy intrigue. (Inevitably, people will assume some of the material is inspired by her breakup with ex~girlfriend Cara Delevingne.) Sonically, the record gradually unfurls into something similarly captivating though, as Clark ditches the guitar rock for pop that is rich, nuanced and constantly surprising. Single songs journey across genres — Pills, for example, begins resembling a bass~heavy remix of a nursery rhyme and ends up a big ballad with a Kamasi Washington sax section — while bizarrely amusing ingredients are continually added to the pot, from parodically funky synth lines to shrill vocal gymnastics that would have Mariah Carey cowering on her chaise lounge. ψ https://www.theguardian.com/
AllMusic Review by Heather Phares; Score: ****½
ψ If Masseduction is any indication, the success St. Vincent’s Annie Clark had with her self~titled breakthrough album — which included a Grammy for Best Alternative Album, playing with Nirvana at their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a long~running, electrifying tour — almost led to a breakdown. Fortunately, for an artist as keenly observant as Clark, personal chaos counts as professional field research, and on her fifth album she weaponizes the trappings of her acclaim. Working with an in~demand producer (Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff, who has also shaped sounds for Lorde and Taylor Swift) and all~star collaborators including Kamasi Washington, Jenny Lewis, and Mike Elizondo, on Masseduction she creates a pop version of St. Vincent that’s bigger and shinier — but definitely not simpler. In its own way, it’s just as complex as her previous album, and as its sound gets more lurid and massive, its songs get more revealing and anxious. “Hang on Me,” which begins the album by comparing a relationship to a plane crash, is the first of many songs to go down in flames. On the title track, Clark sounds increasingly unhinged as she repeats the album’s mission statement — “I can’t turn off what turns me on” — over gleaming synths, outlandish guitars, and barely human harmonies. Here and on the deceptively sleek “Sugarboy,” where she describes herself as “a casualty hanging from the balcony,” she crafts potent cocktails of desire and destruction. Clark also transcends the familiarity of Masseduction’s tropes just as skillfully as she subverts pop music’s conventions. The perky irony of “Pills”’ ode to pharmaceuticals could be clichéd if its speedy verses weren’t followed by a narcotized coda featuring Washington’s woozily beautiful saxophone. Similarly, Clark finds new wrinkles on sexuality and boundaries on the Prince~ly “Savior” and injects new life into the tale of a partner’s OD on “Young Lover,” hitting wailing high notes that are equally fantastical and desperate. These cracking veneers allow more glimpses of real feeling than ever before in St. Vincent’s music, most strikingly on “Happy Birthday, Johnny,” a throwback to Marry Me’s piano pop that finds a longtime friend calling Clark a sellout, and “New York,” a farewell to a changing town and changing relationships. Even the glossy satire of “Los Ageless” is punctuated by whispered confessions (“I try to write you a love song but it comes out a lament”) and limpid steel guitar that melts the rigidity of its beats, a motif that runs through the album. By the time Masseduction closes with the one~two punch of “Slow Disco”’s bittersweet knowledge that it’s time to leave “the bay of mistakes” and the glowering self~destruction of “Smoking Section,” Masseduction delivers sketches of chaos with stunning clarity. It’s the work of an always savvy artist at her wittiest and saddest. ψ https://www.allmusic.com/
Musical style:
ψ Clark’s music has been noted for its wide array of instruments and complex arrangements, as well as its polysemous lyrics, which have been described as teetering between “happiness and madness”. In response to this, Clark has said, “I like when things come out of nowhere and blindside you a little bit. I think any person who gets panic attacks or has an anxiety disorder can understand how things can all of a sudden turn very quickly. I think I’m sublimating that into the music.”
ψ In addition to guitar, Clark also plays bass, piano, organ and theremin. Her music also often features violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, clarinets and other instruments. Her unorthodox musical style has been characterized by critics as a mixture of chamber rock, pop, indie rock, and cabaret jazz.
ψ As of late 2011, her electric guitar pedal board included the following: Korg PitchBlack, DBA Interstellar Overdriver Supreme, ZVex Mastotron Fuzz, Eventide Pitchfactor, Eventide Space, BOSS PS~Super Shifter, Moog EP~2 Expression Pedal. All her pedals are controlled by a MasterMind MIDI Foot Controller. She frequently plays a 1967 Harmony H17 Bobkat electric guitar.
Website: http://ilovestvincent.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/st_vincent
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/St.Vincent
★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★λ★•★