St. Vincent
Masseducation
[Loma Vista Recordings]
Not one to rest on her laurels, Annie Clark raises the bar with her most cohesive and accessible work to date. St. Vincent’s 2014 self-titled LP found Clark a wider audience, but coincided with increased tabloid exposure of her private life. This fifth album cements that trajectory, and the intimacy of Masseducation could be read as Clark’s response to the unwelcome aspects of this boosted profile, not to mention a retort to her perceived aloofness. The Texan remains lyrically obtuse and coy, but Masseducation is more personal, less clinical, yet every bit as innovative and idiosyncratic as one might expect.
Clark’s ambitious vision renders the album in turns wry and earnest, sultry and delicate, detailing frank accounts of anxiety, lost relationships and sexuality. The peppiness of tracks like ‘Pills’ deceptively conceals explicit reference to personal demons and candid sentiments. Orchestral swells that were once a staple of a St. Vincent album are largely dispensed with in favour of processed beats, but with Clark’s layered and erudite songwriting still at the core the result is an assiduously assembled piece that defies simplistic pigeonholing. Arch and eclectic it may be, but Masseducation confidently strikes a balance between the synthetic electropop and plaintive balladry, wearing its heart on its sleeve throughout. It’s enigmatic art-pop, but with substance. Already elevated to cult status, St. Vincent’s stock continues to rise.
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