St. Vincent - a.k.a. Annie Clark;

i love her and hate sufjan fwiw

AC played guitar for me on a tour a few years back and I can say with no doubt she is one of the most talented things going. So smart+wild soul. Killer player. Killer lady.

i like this Actor LP a lot on 1st listen. reminds me of the first Bird And The Bee LP. not heard her earlier stuff yet tho. and i think i hate sufjan so...

I just got into Actor this week too. I think I must have been confusing her first album with something else I heard at the time, something more floaty and folky and whatever. I went back after discovering how much I liked Actor and ended up liking Marry Me too.

And now I'm mad because I spent two years not listening to the first album because I confused it with something lame.

here's that letterman performance ftr - you still don't get anything this brilliantly weird on the jonathan ross show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zVlr-ynnAI

I like this loads.

Yes, I am playing Last.fm/Spotify bingo but it's leading me to lots of nice things. One of those spiderweb connection things that occasionally actually works.

i like it

who was/is bear bear bear?

castanets

Awesome guitar sound on track 7.

So my DIS-contributing friend told me about this record. And how it's like the best thing released all year.

On first listen, it's not far off. Brilliant stuff.

there are some records i just feel too protective of to want to allow other people to listen to

this is kinda one of them

(He actually linked me Southall's blog, which really did convince me to give this a go, so chalk another one off, Nick!)

this does feel like some amazing genre-transcending secret

So she's more than just a female version of that bearded American indie stuff beloved on National Public Radio? I've only done quick listens online so far.

Yeah, whatever you think it sounds like based on that description, you're about 83% wrong.

yeah, that's about as far removed from what she actually sounds like as you could possibly get without describing, like digital hardcore or something

I had listened to her music and thought 'meh', then I saw her live and it was brilliant, then I've returned to the recordings and I'm 'meh' again. I guess I can keep trying.

i am reminded slightly of late-period scott walker

'black rainbow' through 'laughing with a mouth of blood' and then 'marrow' is, like, incredible

every time i hear 'Save Me From What I Want' i want it to carry on into LFO's 'Loch Ness'

Ha, this is exactly what I meant way upthread -- most of the terms you'd use to describe her music really do risk making her sound like "bearded American indie stuff beloved on National Public Radio." And to be honest with you, I would actually not argue that she's totally categorically distinct from that stuff. I really don't think she's that far away, unfashionable thought that might sound to some people. The difference is mostly just that she's a billion times more interesting and better at it than most. Artier, more graceful, more musical, better with mood, more imaginative, etc.

^^ One benefit of this is that anytime someone who likes popular indie along those lines asks you for a recommendation, St. Vincent is something good and interesting but exactly in the right vicinity for them to like. I do wish her records sounded as good as she does live, though.

There's a lot to be said for doing something a billion times more interestingly and effectively than most! God, this is good stuff. This is what is meant by the word 'realised' in reference to albums. Also, 'uncategorisable'. Add 'The Neighbors' and possibly 'The Strangers' to my list of holy shit this is fucking amazing

This is indeed the sort of album which should appeal to a fairly wide market of at least slightly committed sonic enthusiasts. A recommendation as likely to work on me as on someone whose taste rarely gets more leftfield than Portishead, or someone who has completely renounced mainstream pop for Steely Dan or whatever.

I continue to be baffled by the love for this one, I still vastly prefer her debut to this one. I keep returning to it in the hopes of discovering what everyone else seems to be hearing in it but, nope, still just decent sounding to me.

Ha, this is exactly what I meant way upthread -- most of the terms you'd use to describe her music really do risk making her sound like "bearded American indie stuff beloved on National Public Radio." And to be honest with you, I would actually not argue that she's totally categorically distinct from that stuff. I really don't think she's that far away, unfashionable thought that might sound to some people. The difference is mostly just that she's a billion times more interesting and better at it than most. Artier, more graceful, more musical, better with mood, more imaginative, etc.

I'm sure most would say I'm way off base, but I hear a lot of Kate Bush in St. Vincent (at least in the lead single from the new album).

The "Paint a black hole blacker" bits in "The Stranger" seem like an obvious Bushism.

I recently caught her performing on Austin City Limits and it was beautiful. The music had a very slow weight that reminded me of many things, L'Altra maybe. I listened to the album again and was mostly bored. Maybe her next album will caputre the magic of her live performances. Even her vocals are the album aren't as beautiful as they are live.

If she's that much better live than on record, I need to see her live badly, because her records are awesome. Prefer the new one to the debut, but only got the debut on Saturday. Seems a little tamer.

I would say that her records are v v compressed compared to live -- this can be true of a great many records v. live situations

i don't hear anything beardy NPR dude about her music at all except that occasionally there are maybe hints of old timeyness to it - but it's much more urban (as opposed to rural, beardy, backwoodsy) sounding than that. glimpses of 1920s glamour rather than that old tyme music hall thing. she is, at her best, totally uncategorisable in the same way that classic old skool 4ad was: haunting, evocative, otherworldly and yet visceral and teeth and bones and blood and flesh rather than filmy ghosts

kate bush comparisons are so o_0 wtf becoz yes, all otherworldly gurl singer-songwriter auteurs must be cut from the same cloth and that is the ETHEREAL staitjacket oh yessss

I would say that her records are v v compressed compared to live

makes sense, you can hear it on the 'Marrow' intro where her "reach the parts that need oilin and fixin" line is a bit too low, quiet and lost in the choral haze.

closest comparison i hear is suzanne vega but honestly i tend to think that a lot for female singers with flatter, less emotive voices and avante-garde leanings

kate bush comparisons are so o_0 wtf becoz yes, all otherworldly gurl singer-songwriter auteurs must be cut from the same cloth and that is the ETHEREAL staitjacket oh yessss

No, it's not that. What Paul in Santa Cruz heard is the best example of what I heard: "The "Paint a black hole blacker" bits in "The Stranger" seem like an obvious Bushism."

Actually, I don't think I've heard another artist that I've thought sounds like Kate Bush.

(I should say that it's the way that portion of the song is arranged and sounds and maybe St. Vincent's delivery -- not the lyrics themselves -- that triggered the comparison for me)

i guess you could say some kate comparisons are more valid than others...

it just seems like such a lazy bad "female, a bit mad, slightly technological" reference point that it's come to be meaningless

Who else is supposed to sound like Kate Bush?

come on, i've heard it used to describe everyone from florence & the machine to voice of the sodding beehive

(anyway i don't actually care about this enough to argue - if it makes more people come around to st.vincent then fine use whatever terminology you want)

Who else is supposed to sound like Kate Bush?

Bat for Lashes, Florence and the Machine, a couple of songs w/female vocals on the last M83 album (e.g., "Up").

Patrick Wolf sounds like Kate Bush occasionally, and very deliberately. Also dresses like her from time to time too. He has a penis.

But yeah, I was saying to Em the other day, I don't know how I'd describe St. Vincent. At all.

Who else is supposed to sound like Kate Bush?

Blue Roses

one sad note - the album is solid gold awesome super brilliant for 7 tracks, but then loses momentum in the final stretch...'just the same but brand new' is really good, but 'the bed' and 'the party' slightly sabotage the flow

sheer martial panic of the slightly 'lonesome tears'-esque ending of 'black rainbow' into the similarly rising but this time utterly sweet rising motif of 'laughing...' = incredible feat of sequencing

erm delete the second 'rising'

The Party has such beautiful lyrics though, Louis.

Especially when she stops singing words.

i realise i'm pretty late to this, but having discovered this through the ilx albums poll a couple of months ago, i can safely say it's the most played thing i;ve had in the house this year... jesus is it already mid-April? I'll be 60 before I know it.

Annie has certain co-lineage w/ Sufjan; what mighst bequeathest if thee parturitate? Immediate immaculate and blinding white-hot winged ascension?

Tonight's Austin City Limits (http://video.pbs.org/video/1697650631/) demonstrates an axe-maven extraordinaire with, yes, the red lips and white skin of the aforementioned "minx" entrenched. It's all true; and i love her for it.

God save St. V!

the Sufjanphonic Squee

That was great! I was a huge fan and for some reason Daddy's Home took the wind right out of the sails for me. I should go back and try it again. The self-titled album is so damn good.

Cosign about the self-titled, the whole Actor > Strange Mercy > s/t run was incredible. Unfortunately both Antonoff-produced albums were misses for me (although I have warmed up to Masseduction a little bit), but she seems to be teasing new music nowadays? There’s a video on her socials of her putting that godawful Daddy’s Home wig back on the wigstand so I guess we can expect something new soon-ish

OTM re: that run. I first heard her in a tiny venue shortly before she released Actor and have been a huge fan since--one of the only contemporary artists I listen to. I felt quite a bit of anticipation for "St Vincent does the Seventies"--enough to preorder the deluxe vinyl that came with a zine--but it didn't do anything for me. I didn't dislike it, but after a few spins nothing really stood out to me and I couldn't recall how most of the tracks went two hours after finishing it.

Still, I'll check out whatever she puts out next and hopefully see her tour again... though I wouldn't mind if her live show loosened up a bit. The clips of the Masseduction tour seemed a bit overly regimented, whereas I recall her cutting loose with the guitar theatrics a bit more on earlier shows.

I really enjoyed the Masseduction tour, although it was a bit odd--just her with pre-recorded backing. Her sense of visuals is off the charts, and on the rare occasions that she did let loose--I think "Rattlesnake" was one of those occasions--she really did shred (and lost part of her outfit).

It sounds urgent and psychotic, in equal parts the most caustic sound and also, I think, the most sonically blooming. It’s high stakes and intentional. The last record, I was approaching tough subjects with a lot of biting humour and wit. I put on a wig, I was prancing around, it was so fun. This record is darker and harder and more close to the bone. I’d say it’s my least funny record yet! There’s nothing cute about it. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.

https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/st-vincent-new-album-exclusive/

Self-produced, so no Antonoff

That sounds like very good news.

I thought she was great opening for Roxy Music. I was honestly surprised, since I hadn't really been jibing with her vibe.

yeah I liked that material live more than I liked the album. she's a great performer always though

this person provokes a strong reaction somehow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYJxPg6quL4

oh she's making a nine inch nails album, cool. this is easily the most interested i've ever been in her

Mid '00s/Trent Reznor listening to DFA throwback vibes?

I think I'm officially off the bus.

Back on the bus

that is...fine

Kind of Rattlesnake with different sonics I guess? a cool groove with a very precise build and some fun gonzo guitar stuff. But I am here for that much more than whatever wood-panelled retro 70s shit she was doing previously.

It is quite Peej-y to my ears.

Yee haw this is great

Between this and Chelsea Wolfe the good '90s are back

I loved St Vincent but the last album was just plain bad and really put me off ever being excited about anything new so I wont be pre-ordering this time (though I haven't played that new song yet) I really hope she's back on form though.

well that was annoyingly not awful, ugh

It is quite Peej-y to my ears.

― Piedie Gimbel, Thursday, February 29, 2024 7:49 PM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

way too perfect

with st. vincent's music since the s/t... i think it probably doesn't hold its own next to its influences, all else being equal

except that all else _isn't_ equal. she's always _had_ to be a visual performer. she's a woman who plays rock guitar. the success of a woman in rock is in large part measured by how much her fans want to fuck her.

which is a lot of where my unease about liking her music came from, early on. i remember seeing her in '11 or '12 in the egyptian room with my ex, and my ex complaining about all of the _guys_ there. (my ex had a bit of a misandrist streak.) i didn't want to fuck her. i wanted to _be_ her.

i haven't wanted to be her, or anybody else but me, for a little while now. she's still something of a role model for me. she's queer, femme-presenting, neurodiverse-coded (it's always been in her _choreography_, the way she _moves_. a lot of david byrne in there.) the way she navigates those things, the way she presents herself to an audience...

and the way gender plays into it as well. singing about being a "broken man". some people would think of me as a "broken man" - not a woman, but a _mutilated_ man. a man who's had _irreversible damage_ done to him. is how some people would frame me. i genuinely think that's pretty funny. with st. vincent... well, she's a woman who plays rock guitar. doing that _does_ almost seem inherently gender non-conforming.

I'm getting Muse vibes from the new single. I was hoping for more after the disappointment of the last album, but this does nothing for me.

Kate very much otm

The track sounds totally generic, it’s like a mid-tier Lost Highway soundtrack song.

I'm getting Muse vibes from the new single.

haha can't unhear this

way to put me off even giving it a listen

“Broken Man” is the first thing I’ve heard since “Birth In Reverse” that I’m into - there’s a forward momentum that’s been missing since she went even more art rock/art project. Nice guitars too.

Second single "Flea" out today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E65yRApR9UU

NYT profile:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/18/arts/music/st-vincent-all-born-screaming.html