Album Review: St Vincent - St Vincent

It's testament to Annie Clark's individual and idiosyncratic talent that even as she crosses a typical scattergun of styles to find some unexpected corners for her synthesised muse, it all remains singularly hers. It's in those moments where beauty emerges from apparent chaos; Bring Me Your Loves is one such moment, a whirling dervish in a Turkish market, before collapsing into the title plea. That so-identifiable voice of hers going from longing to near threatening to matter-of-factly informing Birth In Reverse's 'ordinary day' includes putting the bins out and masturbating. And you simply accept it as truth. 

There are echoes of the Love This Giant project with David Byrne: Digital Witness has some of the stutter that marked that collaboration's territory – although here it's provided by keyboard taps rather than genuine wheezing brass. Working with the Talking Head emeritus appears to have given Clark more focus, although occasionally an idea still meanders and drifts away, rather than Clark self-editing as she probably should. Then again, this is of the art side of pop, so such discipline may not even be relevant to her work.

Elsewhere, Clark dips into some perhaps unexpected grab-bags. Prince Johnny is machine-made doo-wop making a You're So Vain for this century, while the quietly soaring I Prefer Your Love is plaintive kind-of-soul, undercut by the title's postscript 'to Jesus…'.  It's the little asides and afterthoughts like that just to keep you that bit off balance and thinking that captivate. She remains special.