
Dubbing St. Vincent as “full-on pop” may be stretching it a bit. There are
moments though that feel alarmingly accessible for a St. Vincent album, notably the
propulsive “Birth in Reverse” as well as the wonderful ballads “Prince Johnny”
and “I Prefer Your Love” (the latter two feature mutaded shades of Sinead O’Connor,
George Michael, and Boy George). However, songs like the unnerving album opener “Rattlesnake”
and the “Digital Witness” (which could play as the theme song to a 21st
century reboot of The Prisoner
if Hollywood hadn’t already rebooted it) double-down on Clarke’s frantic,
laconic guitar lines and- in the case of “Digital Witness”- trumpets. “Rattlesnake”,
in particular, ushers in a contagiously addictive anxiety that acts as precursor
for the album’s recurring themes of confessional intimacy; themes that reach full-circle
magnificence with album closer, “Severed Cross Fingers”, a funeral sing-along if there ever was one. For the first
time, St. Vincent appears willing to go down the rabbit hole with us, panic attack at
all- instead of merely pushing us over the edge and calling out to us on our way
down. Never before has Clarke's graphic, macabre imagery sounded so directly therapeutic to the artist herself- and we, as the listeners, can find catharsis here as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment