St Vincent – VinylLair.com

Written By Braddon S. Williams aka “The Concert Critic”

On this date in history, 9/10/2021, St. Vincent brought her Daddy’s Home Tour to Old National Centre’s Egyptian Room in Indianapolis, IN. Annie Clark is St. Vincent in much the same way that Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails, meaning that she is the composer, multi-instrumentalist and overall sonic architect of the St. Vincent brand. For this particular tour, Clark has assembled an irresistible collection of musicians and backing vocalists, including musical director Justin Meldal -Johnsen on bass, keyboards, and vocals, Jason Falkner on guitars and vocals, Mark Giuliana on drums, and Rachel Eckroth on keyboards. A trio of soulful backup vocalists (Sy Smith, Nayanna Holley, and Neka Hamilton) provided exciting visual energy and enhanced the old school ‘70’s vibe that permeated the entire production.

I have been a big fan of St. Vincent for several years and one of the things I enjoy the most is the way Clark reinvents her songs. There is a marriage of icy modern technology and vintage r&b/soul sensibility in this current show that is unlike anything else I have heard recently (okay, maybe Beck, but it’s different than his stuff, too). As good as her band is (and they are phenomenal, make no mistake), it is nearly impossible to look away for long from the main attraction. Annie Clark is simply magnetic; her vocals are pitch perfect, her guitar skills are subtly scintillating, and her moves (with or without a guitar) are a lot of fun to witness. Every song was filled with inspired performances, collaborations, interactions, unique staging (including a rotating circular platform that housed a gigantic mirror on one side that was used to great effect), and the brilliant writing that continues to flow out of St. Vincent seemingly effortlessly.

She played eight songs off the new album and she shared the wealth from the rest of her catalogue: Digital Witness, Actor Out Of Work, Birth In Reverse, Daddy’s Home, New York, Sugarboy, Los Ageless, Marrow, Fast Slow Disco, Pay Your Way In Pain, Cheerleader, Live In The Dream, and an absolutely mesmerizing The Melting Of The Sun. Encores included Down And Out Downtown, Year Of The Tiger, and Fear The Future. I remember thinking if they would have played Black Rainbow, my life would be complete. Well, they didn’t play it, so I plan to keep going back for more. St. Vincent is pretty smart. It’s probably part of her master plan!

Written By Braddon S. Williams

St. Vincent: Actor

Of any new musical artists I have grown attached to in the past 5 years, St. Vincent is near the top of the list.

St. Vincent (Annie Clark) released Actor in 2009, and it is a work of genius. I love her quirkiness, her courage, her individuality, her brilliant song arrangements, her subtle and subversive guitar work, her voice (both vocal and spiritual), but mostly I love St. Vincent because she sounds original…and in this day and age that is a remarkable achievement.

Actor contains quite possibly the best song she has ever written, Black Rainbows, a work of absolutely mesmerizing beauty.

Marrow is another slice of perfection, juxtaposing jarring rhythms with lush keyboard swirls and a melody that worms itself into your psyche and sticks around for eons.

Actor Out Of Work, Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood, The Strangers, The Party, The Sequel, Save Me From What I Want, and Just The Same But Brand New are all delicious tracks, too. If you haven’t discovered St. Vincent yet, why are you still reading this? Go find some of her music and prepare to fall in love!