This album is one of the best of the year. That’s a fact. Well, Probably. St. Vincent, whose real name is Annie Clark, has become on of the most important art rockers out there: She released two very good albums in Marry Me and Actor (One of which is literally named after a line in Arrested Development.) and a phenomenal album in Strange Mercy. Since then, she released an interesting if flawed collaboration with David Byrne called Love This Giant, which further raised her credibility as an innovative and creative artist.

Rather than reviewing this album song-by-song, I’ll talk about some overall themes, and call on songs when I feel the need. Here are some of the topics this album addresses:

The internet, and technology: This is the most obvious one on the album. “Digital Witness”, one of the stand-out tracks on the album is entirely about technology. You can see it in the very pointed lines: “If I don’t show it, you can’t see me.” is talking about social media. “Get back to your stare” is referring to how screens steal our attention from the people around us. “People turn the TV on, it looks just like a window” is fairly obvious, and you can tell how St. Vincent feels about it. St. Vincent would prefer a window. She even says so, “People turn the TV on; I through it out the window” In “Digital Witness,” Annie Clark sees that Google and Facebook “want all of your mind” and wants them to sell it back. And all over some sick woodwinds and a dance-able beat educated from the Love This Giant experiment.



The Degredation of Society: This is another one that can be heard on “Digital Witness,” but is most clearly heard in “Birth in Reverse,” in which is how she describes what she she sees happening today. “A birth in reverse in America.” (Note: “Birth in Reverse” skirts a weird balance between being a good pop song and also sounding kind of insane insane. It’s the unsettling lines and dissonant chords that play over the chorus that interweave with the tightness of the song and the beauty of the melody that really give this effect.) It seems she thinks the end-game here is some dystopian authoritative dictatorship. Ironically enough, she’s the queen here, sitting on her pink throne, asking for her subjects to “Bring me all your loves.”

Being Edgy: “Take out the garbage, masturbate.” ” Remember the time we went and snorted” “I prefer your love to Jesus.” “I’m afraid of heaven because I can’t stand the height”

The Human Condition: I’m talking about “Rattlesnake,” here. While “Rattlesnake” is actually based on a true story, it’s clear that she has some higher pretensions weaved in. In the middle of having some transcendental, Walden-like moment, Annie Clark finds rattlesnakes and runs away as fast as she can. So sure, life is beautiful, but there is danger, and fear. Did I mention the bouncy guitar work? It’s amazing.

And, of course, Relationships: “Prince Johnny” sees St. Vincent trying to persuade a lover to quit being so shallow and recognize the value of normal people over the famous and important. “I Prefer Your Love,” sees her telling her mom how much she values her love and guidance, and how it’s her mom that gave her moral compass. If there’s anything that makes the line “I prefer your love to Jesus” understandable, it’s “All the good in me is because of you.” St. Vincent isn’t tied to some sort of abstract, far-off deity; she would rather celebrate the people she can see.

This valuing of the concrete is why she runs from the rattlesnake in the middle of her transcendent moment. It’s why she doesn’t like people looking at TV screens instead of windows and finds people holding prolonged, focused stares unsettling (To her credit, it does look unsettling.) And it’s why she wishes for Prince Johnny to not be so focused on the lovers he could be with. In an age increasingly ruled by digital metaphor, this embrace of the real world is admirable.

Conclusion

This album is a print. That’s what I’m rating it; it’s obligatory. In St. Vincent, St. Vincent continues to showcase her guitar-shredding and melodic talent. In addition, St. Vincent brings a sound educated by her collaboration with David Byrne and fuses it with the electronic and guitar-driven sounds-capes of her earlier work to create something even more compelling.

