Album Review: St Vincent - Masseduction

St Vincent's Annie Clark teaches us a thing or two about what a big, brash and brilliantly articulated indie pop album with plenty on its mind and unwillingness to compromise should sound like in 2017.

Los Ageless finds Clark in a playful mood dropping a big, fat, rubbery, electro groove that pops even though lyrically she's losing her mind over the loss of her lover. It's been suggested that a failed relationship with model and actress Cara Delevingne drives the heartbreak evident across much of this album. The lonesome slide guitar on Happy Birthday, Johnny and the cold and desperately loveless streets of New York capture Clark at her most sincere, tugging on listeners' heartstrings.

Thankfully, this isn't simply a weepy break-up album. Musically Clarke delivers a wild joyride through a masterful fusion of jazz, rock and electro featuring contributions from artists as diverse as Tuck & Patti, Jenny Lewis and Kamasi Washington. Letting loose a somewhat sardonic sense of humour, Pills delivers a chaotic vision of modern living where the population are all addicted to medication to get through the day. Savior and Masseduction get on some dirty-minded Princely funk. Losing herself in cheeky role play, Clark slips and slides as she grapples with her identity, casting herself as nurse, leather-clad dominatrix, mother and saviour.

This is St Vincent at her very best.