St. Vincent - aka Annie Clark - will release her self-titled fourth album on 24th February 2014 through Loma Vista/Caroline International. The first track to be taken from the album is 'Birth In Reverse', which is now streaming on YouTube, scroll down to view..
The record's 11 tracks showcase Clark at her most assured and gripping, as she meshes distorted, aggressive electric guitars and ethereal vocal and synthesizer arrangements on top of an infectious rhythm section and relentless percussion.
"I knew the groove needed to be paramount," Clark says of the album, which she arranged and demoed extensively in Austin before heading into the studio in Dallas to record. She enlisted Dap-Kings drummer Homer Steinweiss and frequent collaborator McKenzie Smith of Midlake to share percussion duties, while she returned to producer John Congleton to take the sonic potential they'd only just begun to tap with 'Strange Mercy' into dramatic new territory. "I wanted to make a party record you could play at a funeral."
The result is Clark's most riveting work yet. 'Bring Me Your Loves' is a frenzied freakout, but even less frantic tracks like 'Severed Crossed Fingers' still deliver her trademark blend of the beautiful and surreal. At the heart of all her music, though, lie larger questions about what it means to be human and the ways in which we seek to find meaning in our lives. 'Regret' catches her at a moment of immense vulnerability, while 'I Prefer Your Love' may be the purest expression of affection she's ever written. 'Digital Witness' tackles identity in the era of Instagram, with Clark singing, "If I can't show it / If you can't see me / What's the point of doing anything?"
The album follows her last solo release, 2011's 'Strange Mercy,' which was called "one of the year's best" by the New York Times and "something to behold" by Pitchfork. The record cemented her status as one of her generation's most fearsome and inventive guitarists. In 2012, she teamed-up with David Byrne to release the 'Love This Giant' album to critical acclaim.
'St. Vincent' Tracklisting:
1. Rattlesnake
2. Birth In Reverse
3. Prince Johnny
4. Huey Newton
5. Digital Witness
6. I Prefer Your Love
7. Regret
8. Bring Me Your Loves
9. Psychopath
10. Every Tear Disappears
11. Severed Crossed Fingers
As previously announced, St. Vincent tours Europe to precede the release of the new album. Tickets are on sale now through www.ilovestvincent.com
St. Vincent Live:
13th February – Postbahnhof, Berlin
15th February – Paradiso, Amsterdam
17th February – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
18th February – La Cigale, Paris
20th February – Shepherds Bush Empire, London
21st February – The Cathedral, Manchester
22nd February – Olympia, Dublin
