St. Vincent
by St. Vincent
Metascore
89

Universal acclaim - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
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  1. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Mar 14, 2014
    90
    This is Clark's most daring, uncompromising, infectious, and adventurous release yet, as St. Vicent features a musician challenging the very idea of what it means to be an artist in 2014.
  2. Austin Chronicle
    Mar 12, 2014
    89
    Clark's exacting sensibility makes every song a new experience, finally birthing an album where every shot hits its mark.
  3. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Mar 10, 2014
    60
    St. Vincent dances with themes (family, success and the absence thereof, the isolation of the digital) but only ever seems to fringe against them in a way that doesn’t let the record add up to more than the sum of its parts.
  5. The Telegraph (UK)
    Feb 27, 2014
    80
    These songs are the strongest she’s written to date, with terrific hooks and melodies throughout.
  6. Entertainment Weekly
    Feb 26, 2014
    91
    Crackling, uncanny and compulsively listenable. [28 Feb 2014, p.71]
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  7. Filter
    Feb 25, 2014
    84
    St. Vincent is buoyant in the way that the Hindenburg was—it floats along steadily and excitedly, but with a decisive coldness that suggests that something unexpected might happen.
  8. New York Daily News (Jim Faber)
    Feb 25, 2014
    60
    St. Vincent proves on her new work that self-conscious and odd grooves can move you, too. Many songs find joy and invention in goose-stepping rhythms and hard, or even dissonant, shards of guitar.
  9. Paste Magazine
    Feb 25, 2014
    90
    St. Vincent, instead, entertains and provokes at every turn and is disarmingly self-assured.
  10. Slant Magazine
    Feb 25, 2014
    90
    Her guitar may be her primary tool for shaking up and complicating otherwise strictly defined songwriting, but Clark's voice remains the thing that defines her material, the glittering lynchpin of the glorious, ever-expanding world she's created.
  11. Spin
    Feb 25, 2014
    80
    This one is lithe and liquid, shy of a masterwork but still a fucking great record, top to bottom.
  12. The A.V. Club
    Feb 25, 2014
    91
    All told, St. Vincent is a bold, ambitious, and perfectly overstuffed album.
  13. No Ripcord
    Feb 25, 2014
    90
    That’s the wonder of St. Vincent. It’s a personal album that’s well-written enough to provide something we can all identify with.
  14. PopMatters
    Feb 25, 2014
    90
    Clark’s songwriting has a peculiar gap to it, and St. Vincent’s best moments are the ones that happen between sense and nonsense, between the long story and the primal reaction to it.
  15. Rolling Stone
    Feb 25, 2014
    80
    St. Vincent is her tightest, tensest, best set of songs to date, with wry, twisty beats pushing her lovably ornery melodies toward grueling revelations.
  16. The Quietus
    Feb 25, 2014
    80
    St. Vincent's real genius is the way it manages to project an aura of perfection while simultaneously showing us its guts; it suggests that while the polished surface may not be a lie, exactly, it's based on a series of elisions that we're all uncomfortably complicit in.
  17. The New York Times
    Feb 24, 2014
    80
    With the producer John Congleton, Ms. Clark creates an unpretty backdrop for some of her most alluring melodies.
  18. American Songwriter
    Feb 24, 2014
    80
    St. Vincent is an overwhelming listen the first, second, maybe even third time around.
  19. CMJ
    Feb 24, 2014
    90
    With her experiences and experimentation, she has combined and refined her sound to make it something that is similar and yet totally separate from anything she’s done before. St. Vincent isn’t afraid of being different or taking risks, and thinks we shouldn’t be either.
  20. Consequence
    Feb 24, 2014
    91
    Her biggest fans may prefer less direct writing, but it makes St. Vincent her most widely appealing album to date, an infectious work that doesn’t ever feel like a compromise.
  21. New Musical Express (NME)
    Feb 24, 2014
    80
    Clark’s readiness to be freakish and alone has translated into her songwriting, which is bolder than ever, and out to connect.
  22. Pretty Much Amazing
    Feb 24, 2014
    100
    Annie Clark stands astride St. Vincent, a colossus in total--and thrilling--command.
  23. Sputnikmusic
    Feb 24, 2014
    90
    St. Vincent is a challenging art pop album that convincingly balances the beautiful with the ugly, and ultimately stays human despite its futuristic leanings.
  24. AllMusic
    Feb 24, 2014
    80
    As her most satisfying, artful, and accessible album yet, St. Vincent earns its title.
  25. DIY Magazine
    Feb 24, 2014
    100
    St. Vincent showcases Annie Clark as a fiercely accomplished musician, a relentlessly original artist, and now, an innovator of pop.
  26. Pitchfork
    Feb 24, 2014
    86
    St. Vincent continues Clark's run as one of the past decade's most distinct and innovative guitarists, though she's never one to showboat.
  27. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Feb 24, 2014
    100
    Annie Clark’s fourth album is frequently extraordinary.
  28. The Observer (UK)
    Feb 24, 2014
    60
    Equal parts funky electro throwback and prog chanson monster, St Vincent's fourth album feels like the culmination of a trajectory from the margins to centre stage with a minimum of intellectual loss.
  29. The Independent (UK)
    Feb 21, 2014
    80
    Throughout there’s a determination to find the appeal in paradox, notably the beguiling blend of cool and cumbersome that carries the love song “Prince Johnny” to another place.
  30. Exclaim
    Feb 21, 2014
    90
    Clark has made the beautiful ugly, the ugly beautiful and the difference between them nearly indistinguishable. If that sounds pretty complex and incredible, you've got a pretty good idea what listening to St. Vincent is like.
  31. Under The Radar
    Feb 21, 2014
    85
    On a whole, St. Vincent might not be quite as distinctive or as audacious as Strange Mercy. Clark, however, has found a consistency which is rare among artists, stemming from the confidence she has in her voice and vision. It's enough to make song after song worth savoring. [Feb/Mar 2014, p.76]
  32. The Line of Best Fit
    Feb 18, 2014
    90
    Those who never warmed to the sharp-elbowed vibe won’t find themselves wooed by a new angle, but for everyone else St. Vincent is close to definitive.
  33. Drowned In Sound
    Feb 18, 2014
    80
    The songs from St. Vincent that you’ll return to umpteen times are front-loaded into its first 23 minutes.
  34. musicOMH.com
    Feb 18, 2014
    100
    It’s an album that manages to remain accessible while still sounding challenging and unconventional, an album that can sound heart-stoppingly beautiful one minute and scratchily acerbic the next and, ultimately, an album that’s impossible to grow bored of.
  35. Q Magazine
    Feb 14, 2014
    80
    This fourth solo album is daring and hugely composed. [Mar 2014, p.115]
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  36. The Fly (UK)
    Feb 14, 2014
    90
    The Oklahoma songwriter is back with some of her most ebullient, ambitiously styled music to date on St Vincent.
  37. The Guardian
    Feb 13, 2014
    100
    St Vincent's 40 minutes offer an embarrassment of fantastic songs.
  38. Mojo
    Feb 12, 2014
    80
    Clark has whittled a motley crew of characters who sit inside taut, ever so slightly paranoid, Byrne-influenced P-funk.... Wonderful. [Mar 2014, p.88]
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  39. Uncut
    Feb 12, 2014
    80
    Darkly entertaining, thoughtful and a little threatening, St. Vincent fizzes with enthusiasm and the uncontrollable strangeness of life. [Mar 2014, p.74]
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  40. Clash Music
    Feb 12, 2014
    80
    The devil’s in the detail, and it makes for a brilliant record.
  41. The 405
    Feb 12, 2014
    90
    It's an album that, despite its placement more as high art, isn't afraid to embrace pop music for everything it's worth, managing to be accessible while also challenging, drawing the listener in with familiarity to then unleash upon them this cryptic, paradoxical world that just begs to be explored over and over again.

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best Album of 2014
22
#22 Most Discussed Album of 2014
4
#4 Most Shared Album of 2014

User Reviews

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User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 459 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 415 out of 459
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 459
  3. Negative: 22 out of 459
  1. MooziikMaster
    Feb 25, 2014
    10
    The most versatile album, not only by St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) but of the past few years, offers a plethora of delicious snippets. AThe most versatile album, not only by St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) but of the past few years, offers a plethora of delicious snippets. A mental stunner of an album unfolds with a mixture of voluble guitar mayhem, head-bopping brass sections, and twee electro beats. Not only has Annie Clark grown as a musician, she has blossomed into one of indie rock's most unique staples.

    The eponymous album begins with a shaky, frantic progressive track entitled "Rattlesnake". It slowly brings the audience closer and closer to the new image Annie has given herself. By the end of the track, the hair is let down, the feet are dancing, and the ever-creative guitar shrieks emerge in full force. Crank the amp up to 11, you're in for a joyride. The album's first single, "Birth In Reverse", offers an arrangement of head-scratching lyrics involving daily routines along with the type of instrumentals for a fast car ride. "Prince Johnny", an angelic, yet peculiar addition gives off simple vibes at the beginning. A seemingly innocent track trudges on until the voice of an angel cuts in to sing a few bars of nothingness. To describe the sheer beauty of this track would be an understatement, no matter how it is described. Just listen and fall in love. "Huey Newton" follows, giving quirky electro rhythms, heavy percussion beats, and soft, sultry acoustic riffs. Once again, this track explodes towards the end, letting a head-banging rock opera materialize. The following single, "Digital Witness", allows the listener to hear the obvious David Byrne influences. With a jazzy brass instrumentation, this track could be considered a bonus track from St. Vincent's 2012 collaboration with David Byrne, Love This Giant. And damn, is it ever catchy. "I Prefer Your Love" slows things down with an classic St. Vincent style, returning to the slow drums, the synth beats, and the calm vocals. This track shows that even with the power of a rock star, St. Vincent can still make a tranquil piece. However, the tranquility doesn't last long when "Regret" rolls in. With a slick bass line, heavenly acoustics, and the always beautiful vocals of Ms. Clark, it's an instant classic. "Bring Me Your Loves" is new. It's a track hidden at the end of unchartered territory. A new, frenzied pace of music sets this song apart from the rest of the album. With heavy guitar bits, an acapella section, and electronic rhythms from outer space, this brilliant, yet insane track provides a different side to the usual sounds heard. "Psychopath", a more straight-forward song, offers more bellowing guitar riffs, even if you were tired of them. With a incomparable instrumentation, it is another reminder of the David Byrne influence. As the album begins to end, "Every Tear Disappears" gives one final shout. Although it isn't an mad dash of sporadic beats, it finalizes the more unique side of Annie Clark's new-found music style. "Severed Crossed Fingers", the end of a masterpiece, the "ride off into the sunset as the credits roll" moment, is the perfect way to finish. Not only does it calm the listeners back down, it allows them to reflect on the last 40 minutes of their lives. What they just finished listening to is something exceptional. Something unable to be replicated.

    St. Vincent's fourth effort could be considered her best. It brings in new elements while remaining faithful to the style that got her where she is today. I admire St. Vincent and all she has accomplished. She is not only my favourite female vocalist, but also a top contender for the genre of indie rock. Congrats to you Annie. You and your funky, bleached hairdo.

    Check out more music reviews at Impossible Soul Music Reviews on Facebook!    … Full Review »
  2. NazAw
    Mar 1, 2014
    10
    St. Vincent with her self-titled LP, an album which is, my first introduction to a full length project of hers.
    And to least say, to start it    St. Vincent with her self-titled LP, an album which is, my first introduction to a full length project of hers.
    And to least say, to start it up, I'm impressed. Well that's so gibberish (jokes aside), this is one heck-of a masterpiece singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark has been cooking up.

    With a slide help on the production side from John Congleton, we have, sonically wise an cinematic and colorful experience through out. A journey full of heavy synthesizers, drown-out guitar riffs, distorted sequences. An album, experimental one, which blends the best bags off indie pop/rock music with an ounce of more electronic touch to it all.
    A record, yet beautiful, but grimy when Ms. Clark at times comes on twisted, lyrically. Lyrically a more odd figure in todays indie pop/rock I've heard in a while, she's quite unique, so is the writing on this. I love it, really loving it.
    And a guitarist as St. Vincent, as innovative of a solo artist, there's have a few off.

    Some of the most catchiest hooks, rythms, melodies and instrumentals we are going to have around in twenty-fourteen. Annie Clark is definitely one original and creative artist in music, an artist willing to push the culture, pop, rock, whatever she lays her hands on forward.

    If it's ballads, or up-tempo tracks, what you wont be bored with, is her angelic voice.

    An extrodinary piece of work from St. Vincent, one of top records we are going to sum up at the end of the year. This self-titled LP is one of the most interesting records I've came across, a favorite it is, St. Vincent is up to top this decade, better watch out.    … Full Review »
  3. indiegalaxy10
    Feb 25, 2014
    10
    With this album she consolidates as a incredible artist. St. Vincent is an incredible album that have the reality in the lyrics, and the falseWith this album she consolidates as a incredible artist. St. Vincent is an incredible album that have the reality in the lyrics, and the false digital era, surrounding her personal life ,Annie Clark shows that her power is elevated and then , she can create innovative records with this fourth album she finds her true sound and like her last magnificent Strange Mercy, she crafted a unique, beautiful and genius second masterpiece.… Full Review »
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