You keep reading that pop music is dead, or cancelled or whatever phrase you want to use to signify the apparent death of the popular. But isn’t pop music exactly that? What’s popular? It’s not a specific sound, or even an image, it’s just what people are listening too. And what people have been increasingly listening to over the last couple of years, is a new wave of eccentric, avant-garde, peculiar pop, a wave arguably began by St. Vincent’s 2017 release.
A visceral hurricane of eccentric synth, snarling guitar splashes and pummelling drum beats offers a rather peculiar platform for St. Vincent’s social commentary but if normal is what you want, then you’re looking in the wrong place. St. Vincent’s MASSEDUCTION, despite its 2017 release, has become an expansive project that’s evolved extensively over 2018, with avant-garde videos, a full-length piano version, and a whole lot of lube, latex and violence – those modern music videos eh?
You’re seduced straight away by the extravagant pop melodies that have been plucked from the mainstream of 2016 and 2017, but given a futuristic, forward-thinking makeover. It’s a superb foray into sound with wild experimentation showing St. Vincent is expanding her sonic horizons. The guitar is used intermittently despite her widely-know quality, but when it is used, the impact is more forceful. This is most notable on ‘Pills’, which features a searing hook, offering respite after a relentless ramble about societies dependence on medicine which culminates in a rather unexpected but beautiful saxophone au revoir.
Vital messages are abundant throughout, St. Vincent doesn’t tip toe around any topics. ‘Fear The Future’ does what it says on the tin, whilst the title track is a dissection of power that sees St. Vincent merge sexual and political power into one , the song opening with ‘Power Corrupts’ being screamed out in Japanese. Each song has a deep and meaningful message throughout, despite the playful delivery, alt-pop rushes and sing-along choruses that make everything seem just that little less daunting. The vocal range is mind-blowing too, shifting from haunting to angelic, sometimes in the space of one song, it’s a multi-layered album that shows off St. Vincent’s technical qualities.
She’s poured her heart into this album lyrically, potentially leaving Annie Clark a little vulnerable, but sonically, under the mask of St. Vincent, she remains defiant, confident, and ready to try absolutely everything, even if that does mean getting punched in the face…those modern music videos, eh?
