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Review: St. Vincent's Black Friday 10 Inch
Indie | Tuesday 2nd December 2014 | Matt
Following the release of her critically acclaimed fourth LP earlier this year, St. Vincent has kept up a busy schedule. With a European tour under her belt, as well as spots filling in for Fred Armisen on Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Kurt Cobain for Nirvana's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Clark has found time to share some new tracks with us for Record Store Day's Black Friday.
The tracks, led by recent live mainstay 'Pieta' and backed by b-side 'Sparrow', were recorded during sessions for St. Vincent back in 2013 with producer John Congleton, and Clark's ability to conjure effervescent and otherworldly sonic landscapes marry perfectly with Congleton's assured hand at the controls. The religious imagery hangs heavy in the air on 'Pieta', and Clark's ominous, brooding delivery is balanced perfectly against the delicate yet propulsive drive of acoustic toms and electric kick drum. Clark's growth as a lyricist has been one of the most compelling aspects of her career to date, and 'Pieta' is no exception, transporting the image of Michelangelo's Pietà into a distinctly quotidien, unspiritual scene: "Baptised in the shallow end/Of a Holiday Inn/Limbs dangled over my Pa/Like an inverse Pieta". The track then effortlessly segues into a freefall chorus, with Clark's tremulous falsetto slathered in large hall reverb, backed by shimmering Moog and subtle, galvanic electric bass. Listen below:
'Sparrow' opens with a lurching electronic beat, staggering with fatal purpose towards the track's transcendant chorus. Musing on death and loss, Clark takes as her inspiration the transient, fleeting beauty of birdsong, and suggests an ultimate futility in the the pursuit of such beauty: "And no eyes are on the sparrow/Eyes are on the sparrow/How could that be the case?/The Lark keeps whistling his number/Silly little number/Although he is just prey." By the chorus, Clark's plaintive yet pointed delivery gives way to truly spectacular but understated falsetto, carried by subtle organ that melts into the background and lends the track the atmosphere of a pop requiem.
For those primarily interested in St. Vncent for her angular, exemplary guitar work, there's none to be found on this release. However, for those following the development of Clark as an artist, this 10 inch is an essential release that showcases both the breadth and depth of her compositional repetoire.
