A first listen through Actor and you know that Annie Clark is not content to simply replicate her stunning St Vincent debut Marry Me. The sophomore album, out May 5th, delves further into nooks and crannies hinted at on the first record.
Does it work out? Well, sometimes.
"Strangers" opens the album with a new electro beat, not quite trip hop, but a quirky swoon nonetheless. The song ends by swelling up into a Sonic Youth-esque art rock cacophony.
Those two elements will compete with one another for the remainder of the record in a schizophrenic tug o' war. "Marrow" features processed "H-E-L-P" vocals on a hip hop beat. On the flipside, "Actor Out of Work" has an almost Yo La Tengo-like guitar swirl.
Sometimes it just plain doesn't work. "Neighbors" is a disorganized mess with a carnival atmosphere. "Black Rainbow" desperately yearns to be a Tom Waits found sound track, but never quite achieves that.
Lyrically the album is similar in style to Marry Me. It is moody, yet for the most part understated. The one exception being the over-the-top "Save Me From What I Want", a song title that would even make Trent Reznor cringe.
Clark does give us some of what we expect. "Bed" and "Laughing With a Mouth of Blood" are whimsical and dreamy, like much of the material on Marry Me. However, it takes all the way to "Party" before the St Vincent-like piano chords make an appearance.
Considering the dramatic quality of the music, Actor is an apt title. Unfortunately St Vincent tends towards the melodramatic a little too often, marring what otherwise had the potential to be a strong album.
Best tracks: "Save Me From What I Want", "Marrow"
Track listing for Actor:
- Strangers
- Save Me From What I Want
- Neighbors
- Actor Out of Work
- Black Rainbow
- Laughing With a Mouth of Blood
- Marrow
- Bed
- Party
- Just the Same But Brand New
- Sequel
6.0/10
4 praise/complaints:
Wrong. Idiot.
Wow. That's incredible insight. Now that you frame it that way it's an great album!
I don't think that it's too melodramatic. It seems the melodies do get lost a bit in a cluttered sound, but perhaps I'll like it more on repeated listens. The last song is lovely. Everyone has an opinion, as music is subjective - people need to decide for themselves.
Are you kidding me? "Actor" blows "Marry Me" out of the water. "Actor" represents a higher music complexity and "Marry Me" barely touched the surface of.
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