That Annie Clark’s new album as St. Vincent is self-titled is no aberration, no cop-out in the face of vacant inspiration.
Just look at the eponymous collection’s Willo Perron-designed, Memphis Movement-inspired cover. Clark, perched high atop her modernist throne, exudes the sort of confidence and wit reserved only for those who’ve mastered a craft. Otherwise she’d just look ridiculous, tossing off another rococo selfie like so many of the characters Clark brings to life on songs like “Huey Newton” and “Digital Witness,” “entombed” by “the 0s and 1s.
Let’s take the gas off the pedal for a moment, though. The first three St. Vincent records stand plenty capable on their own and are in no way subsumed by the force of Clark’s latest work. 2007’sbolted from the gate, ensuring any reference to her time in Polyphonic Spree or in Sufjan Stevens’ band should be noted merely for context.
“Birth in Reverse,” “Digital Witness” and “Regret” light St. Vincent’s other vigorous fireworks displays, the former a sort of update on Faraquet-ian dance punk, the latter a revved-up “Temecula Sunrise” on steroids. But these reference points should be considered lightly: As in all things, Clark is very much doing her own thing. And, from the sound of a recentinterview, the influences here are more of a vintage Turkish variety than anything from Dischord Records.
Elsewhere Clark trades in mellower hues, as on the standout “Prince Johnny,” which has the songwriter acting as both participant and observer in a forlorn tale of affection for a friend or lover who’s “holding court in bathroom stalls.” I can’t help but wonder if it’s “Johnny” who shows up again in’s gorgeous closer, “Severed Crossed Fingers,” wherein Clark sighs, “Seeing double beats not seeing one of you.
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