Released: 2014

Genres: Art Rock, Art Pop, New Wave, Post-Punk

The Musiquarium’s St. Vincent Review Score: 9 out of 10

Prior to this album, Annie Clark was still a modest-looking indie girl, characterized by her short, curly, black hair and her doe eyes; she was talented, but not overly weird. But, that all changed with St. Vincent, where she dyed her hair, embraced the strange and started to resemble a sexy fashion icon, more than the cute artsy girl next door. While promoting the album, she referenced a Miles Davis quote about how the hardest thing an artist can do is try to sound like themselves, and so, St. Vincent sees Annie Clark doing her best impression of St. Vincent.

Rattlesnake is a slinky, fuzzed-out opener that just oozes sexiness and cool. Lead single Birth in Reverse discusses the ordinary tasks of the day, such as taking out the garbage and masturbating, turning a song about mundane into one of her signature songs. Digital Witness sees the use of some leftover horns from her David Byrne collaboration (Love This Giant) on another one of the album’s best and grooviest tracks. Huey Newton and Bring Me Your Loves make prominent use of synthesizers.

St. Vincent’s self-titled album is another stupendous album from Annie Clark, on par with 2011’s Strange Mercy. Whoever says that women can’t rock hasn’t listened to St. Vincent.

Trivia: St. Vincent won Best Alternative Music Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view St. Vincent on Discogs.

Back to the 2014 Album Guide or the St. Vincent Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard