4 out of 5

Produced by: John Congleton

Label: Loma Vista

I wish I listened to St. Vincent more. I’m not sure why I don’t, as I do dig the way Annie Clark juxtaposes her cutesy vocalizations and dance pop leanings with dark and complex imagery, even cutting the foreground of that beat and pleasant singing voice with plenty of distorted bite and emotional inflection.

…But I might’ve answered my own question, as cutesy vocalizations and dance pop leanings, however well blended with other elements, generally don’t do it for me. But if there was an album to break that mold, it would be the self-titled St. Vincent, Clark’s fourth release under the moniker, and her third mind-meld with producer John Congleton, also a peddler of mixed stylings with his own music, though generally with more yelling.

St.Vincent is nearly a masterpiece of this indie pop format which Clark has very much sharpened and honed into an undeniably unique sound, as witnessed on the slew of grand opening tracks: Rattlesnake, Birth in Reverse, and Prince Johnny all form different takes on Clark’s and Congleton’s giddily skewed sound. Where Prince Johnny is delicate and slinky, Rattlesnake is a direct punch with the punctuated vocals to match; Birth in Reverse a day-in-the-life pop song with organically contemplative lyrics and an instantly catchy hook.

As the album gets to its midpoint with Digital Witness and I Prefer Your Loves, the potential for indulgence creeps in: while the former purposefully goes for a very bleep-bloop sound, a template for how these songs are structured begins to emerge and then can’t be shaken for most of the remaining album. In the case of the latter, Clark goes back to a more singer-songwriter type effect that feels out of place for such a bold artist, skin to a stock “acoustic” track on a rock disc.

But despite the mentioned sense of repetition, the final section of the album – especially our concluding last three tracks – come across with the same confidence and quirk as the opening trio, leaving me with tunes stuck in my head and wondering if I should be listening to this St. Vincent chick more often…