The thing with Annie Clark, better known as the triple-Grammy-winning iconoclast St Vincent, is that much like an actual saint the multi-instrumentalist and producer is always being praised for her last great feat. A notorious shapeshifter, Clark’s last full length Daddy’s Home found the songwriter donning a blonde wig, fur coat and a teetering pair of Seventies platforms for a similarly immersive sonic experience. While 2017’s Masseducation saw her taut and tight in both production and leathers for a dominatrix-doused slice of electro-pop.
Ahead of the seventh studio album, Clark described this record’s direction as “a pummelling” and that’s certainly true of early single, “Broken Man” – one of two tracks that welcomes percussive powerhouse Dave Grohl onto the drums. The track is rich in Rid Of Me-era PJ Harvey distortion and those welcome ride bell hits create a distinctive stonk that flows nicely into the grunge chops of “Flea” with a heavy chorus and sludgy guitars straight from Seattle.
Elsewhere opener “Hell Is Near” lures us in with a spiralling folksy rock that wouldn’t be out of place on Zeppelin IV. A distinct contrast to follow-up “Reckless” which begins as a sinister piano ballad but quickly builds its BPM into heavy industrial beats. “Violent Times” could very well be Clark’s contender for a Bond film punctuating her soaring soprano vocals with dramatic horns. The bombast continues in recent single “Big Time Nothing” and that vocal line that finds her close to rapping but, as Clark joked on BBC 6 Music, collaborator Cate Le Bon quickly steered her away from any “Nookie” nu-metal territory.
In an interview with The Guardian, Clark shared her inspiration for one particular song on the record, paying tribute to producer Sophie in the track “Sweetest Fruit” after hearing about the way the Scottish songwriter fell to her death trying to get a better look at the moon, adding that the song is about “people trying for transcendence.” And in her saintly position, nearly two decades on from her debut, Annie Clark continues pushing beyond indie’s average leanings, screaming wildly into our ever-hungry eardrums.
Below: Watch the video for "Burning Man" by St Vincent
