St Vincent (2021)

One Liner: Quirky electro-indie rock
Wikipedia Genre:  Art rock, indie rock, chamber rock
Home: Dallas

Poster Position: 3
Day: Sunday at 7:30 on the T-Mobile Stage
Weekend One Only.

Thoughts: She's early!  She had been here in 2014 and 2018, so I figured we'd get her again in 2022.  Like the Winter Olympics in rock and roll form.  When she first came, she wasn't a big name, but by the time she came for 2018, she had sold out a bunch of big shows across the nation, building on her reputation as a quirky electro-indie girl.  

Anne Erin Clark, also goes by Annie Clark, really is the band.  She started out as part of multi-instrumental weirdos The Polyphonic Spree, and was apparently also a member of Sufjan Stevens's touring band.  Lake Highlands graduate (go Wildcats!) and then went to Berklee College of Music before dropping out to go give it a shot in real life.  In an interview, she said that the St. Vincent name came from a Nick Cave song, apparently "There She Goes, My Beautiful World," in which Cave laments other poets and musicians' ability to write despite difficult circumstances, including noting that "Dylan Thomas died drunk in
St. Vincent's hospital."  That song is OK, not my favorite.  Wikipedia lists like 15 Saints when you search for St Vincent.

Vincent was an indie darling with Rolling Stone over the first few albums, and they LOVED her 2017 disc.  For me, it is best left alone.  2017's MASSEDUCTION, or, as I'll call it, the one where every time I look at the album cover I feel dirty and like I shouldn't be listening to this.

I've generally enjoyed St. Vincent when I've tried her out in the past, but beyond a few tracks, this one isn't doing much for me.  The hit, that I keep hearing in bleeped out form on the radio, is "New York."  27.3 million streams.

Very pretty at times, and has a nice sense of melancholy, but also has that jarring repeat use of MF in the midst of that pretty thought.  But this is definitely better than the stressfully bad "Sugarboy" or the title track.  "Los Ageless" is also a good one, with good observations about the world on the west coast.  This album straddles some line between tech sounds and real music, while keeping the lyrics as witty and winkingly smart as possible, and its just not for me.  Even the catchiness of "Pills," like an Alice in Wonderland ode to eating handfuls of pills to get by, isn't that great over time.

Before that album was 2015's St. Vincent.  This one is much more pleasurable to me - a sort of twisted fun.  You may have heard "Birth in Reverse," 12.0 million streams:

or "Digital Witness," with 33.8 million streams (and I think it bangs):

on the radio here in Austin, those are still getting radio play even years later.  Both are great glimpses at the sounds she's got on this album, some basic beats with tunes over the top that range from quirky Bjork horn sections to pop synth swells to driving guitar rocking.  And she has a great voice to slide right over the top and then through those arrangements.  I also love the lyrics to "Digital Witness," about our obsession with being seen online by other people.  I mean, how obnoxious are people who can't listen to music without telling the entire world about it?  Oh, wait.  Well, regardless of the irony, this song is fantastic.

Also, this album won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2015, as well as several other awards from lesser publications and groups.

Before this album, she did a collaboration with David Byrne (Love This Giant) that has a very similar sound to this album, but with some Talking Heads singing on there.  This is definitely one of those albums where you can tell that people just checked out the first song and then moved on.  Play count on Spotify looks like this: 8.0 M, 2.4 M, 1.8 M, 1.5 M, and on down to just over a million for the last song.  Well, here is that first song anyway, "Who."

Kind of a wack song, but Vincent's voice sounds fabulous.

Prior to that weird collabo, she had three earlier albums, 2011's Strange Mercy, 2009's Actor, and 2007's Marry Me.  Strange Mercy is generally good synth-pop indie music, but is not nearly as immediately appealing as St. Vincent.  A little bit of the quirk that was coming, but not as easily accessible for me.  2009's Actor is much more gentle, still some odd adventuresome sounds, but more Tori Amos than Bjork.   And the Marry Me album stays in that gently quirky vein (albeit with some jarring musical choices like the unpleasant guitar solo in "Now, Now" or similarly dissonant stuff in "Paris is Burning").  Here is "Cruel," off of 2011's Strange Mercy:  21.9 million streams.

Also of note, she jammed with Nirvana at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction a few years back, and it gives me goosebumps despite wishing for the real thing.  Her voice is too nice to properly replace Cobain, who sounded like he was dying when he sang this song.  But still, if I could go see her do a full show with the surviving Nirvana guys, I'm there in a heartbeat.

I really like the way she just boldly stands in there and jams it.  Something about her attitude rules.  I also wonder how in the hell Dave Grohl can headbang like that as he drums and not either get a neck contusion or get dizzy.  Truly amazing.  But her "yeahs" are too clean.  I need more skuzz.

In 2018, she put out a companion album to 2017's Masseduction, called MassEducation, that converts the songs into loungey piano tunes, like Fiona Apple doing a full cover album, except its still Vincent.  Its beautiful, like in the ringing, loping piano solo in "Happy Birthday, Johnny," but I think I like the originals more, with the guitarwork and odd squelches that pop up throughout.  "Los Ageless" is probably my favorite.  It's not the most streamed, that goes to the first song ("Slow Disco") but I think that is only because people try that song, realize this is a sleepy piano ballad album, and move on.  3.4 million streams.

Lovely.  Strips the songs down so that the lyrics are the star.  Cool enough versions of the songs, but I'm OK without that disc existing.

Then, this year, she put out Daddy's Home.  I was kind of excited about that one, as my interest in her has built over the years, but I don't love anything about it.  It's almost a lounge act album.  The stream count agrees with my dismissal, as multiple tunes on here don't even crack a million streams.  Pitchfork gave it 6.7 stars, which is just barely better than they gave the Peppa Pig album, which will always be the measuring stick for me.  I especially do not like "My Baby Wants a Baby," which rips off that Sheena Eaton song about her baby taking the morning train.  Pitchfork calls that track the standout, which tells you why they are dumb.  The only interesting thing about the album is that it delves into the fact that her dad was arrested for a stock manipulation scheme and he got freaking 12 years.  That's a legit sentence.  Like, the asshole rapist swimmer kid in California got like 20 minutes in jail but this dude got a short lifetime.  Top streamer is the first song - hallmark of a less than great album by a top artist - so I'll give you #2 - "The Melting of the Sun."  4.3 million.

Definitely has the funky organ from the 70's whipping it up, and then her goofy wig powering through the video.  You get the scene she's going for.  Don't love it.

Either way, I'd almost certainly go watch this.  Maybe I could be convinced to go to Tierra Whack again, but I think I'd rather go check this and then head to Duran Duran.