Rating – 3 3/4 stars out of 5
I have talked about St Vincent before when I reviewed her film, The Nowhere Inn. At that point, we were still relatively fresh from her sixth album, Daddy’s Home and I honestly did not expect a new album for several more years. As it turns out, it took about three years for a new album even though Annie Clark was writing from the moment her prior album was released. Her new album, All Born Screaming is entirely self-produced which can either be the harbinger of death as we saw with Jennifer Lopez‘s latest album or it can be a masterpiece, see Some Girls by The Rolling Stones or pretty much every Prince album in existence. So as excited as I was for new St Vincent music, I was also a little concerned that it might not have the same polish I have come to expect from some of her most celebrated releases. Let’s take a look.
All Born Screaming is the seventh album release for St Vincent. As mentioned above, this is the first studio album she has done entirely produced by her lonesome. However, that certainly does not mean that she didn’t have some big time contributions from the likes of Cate Le Bon, Josh Freese, and Dave Grohl among others. But apparently Annie Clark could only hear the voices in her own head and didn’t want to have to go through anyone else to get them out.
Track 1: Hell is Near (4:14) – The beginning is akin to chamber music and then about forty seconds in, it launches into a somewhat familiar St Vincent hypnotic groove. Then somewhat oddly about thirty seconds later, a 12-string guitar rails in changing the dynamic of the song to an almost folky type sound. Not finished with changes in direction, we even get some eerie piano chords as well. Josh Freese contributes with drums. Wonderful song but extremely artsy.
Track 2: Reckless (3:55) – A piano start for this song. It’s very thoughtful and steady singing, a passionate feel to it. About 2:40, the song completely changes and delivers a rock anthem from out of nowhere. It actually saves the song for the most part. It’s also one of those songs that gets better with each listen because of the build.
Track 3: Broken Man (3:22) – The first single released for the album, I’ve heard it on Sirius XMU as well as Alt Nation starting back about a couple of months ago. This is also the first of two tracks that Dave Grohl lends his chops to. It has that classic St Vincent type tone with Annie Clark belting the lyrics and then the high background singing chiming in. (I would be lying though if I didn’t say I still miss Toko Yasuda‘s voice for backup).
This is also the kind of song that would be a blast live with everyone in the audience belting out: “What Are You Looking At?” Easily the highlight of the album so far. Incidentally the album cover comes from this video (For the record, I could have done without the inside cd booklet picture.)
Track 4: Flea (3:49) – The second single which I’ve also heard on Sirius XMU. Dave Grohl is back for this one and it shows as this immediately reminded me of a 90’s alternative rock song especially with the chorus. It’s highly entertaining for the first two minutes before dragging into this weird psychedelic bridge. The song does finally wrap back to the chorus for the final thirty seconds but it takes too long to do so and it feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity.
Track 5: Big Time Nothing (2:56) – This is a completely different sound for St. Vincent. It reminds me very much of the talkie verses in Numb by U2. It’s funky but at the same time really rocks and has an exciting beat. David Ralicke from Dengue Fever provides the horn work. This is my favorite song on the album and was released as a single at the same time as the album drop. Clark has described this song as having influence from the band The Prodigy, having the early 90’s London sound.
Track 6: Violent Times (3:56) – David Ralicke’s horns are certainly back out for this next tune. It feels like Annie is on the stage at a sleazy little club on the wrong side of town because she doesn’t have two dimes to rub together. Then a bad boy walks in like a steamy neo-noir thriller and cue the horns. Seriously, this is an awesome song that really shows off her seductive singing skills and probably belongs more on her last album, Daddy’s Home but super glad it’s here.
Track 7: The Power’s Out (4:36) – The album to this point has been pretty strong and there are hardly any complaints. Well until now. The Power’s Out is a slow song, and that’s fine. But this song borders on dreadful. It’s also the first song to include Cate Le Bon on bass and while that part of the song is top notch, most listeners will plead for the power to be back on. Or maybe leave it off so we can take a nap. Let’s move on, one disappointing song an album does not make.
Track 8: Sweetest Fruit (3:57) – This song was meant as an ode to Sophie, a music producer that has worked with Charli XCX, Madonna and others. It’s quite catchy for about the first two plus minutes. Then it completely dissipates for the last minute and half of the song. The guitar solo seems odd at best and takes us out of a decent song and is very similar to Flea in that regard.
Track 9: So Many Planets (3:33) – The tune does have some clever lyrics such as “Dropping Promises like H-Bombs.” There is an almost Jamaican under beat to the song but it’s so disjointed that it is hard to get into. Anytime you have to resort to “La-la-la’s” in your verses, it’s probably a sign that we should just move on. We’ll tackle the last track which incidentally is the title track next.
Track 10: All Born Screaming (6:55) – I might be going full on rant here. The song starts out interesting enough and there is evidence of song building which is usually a good sign to a successful tune. Then around 2:35, the song breaks down into this strange tone. This continues for about forty seconds where it decides to pick up again. For fifteen seconds. And then everything freaking stops. I might twiddle my thumbs but then it comes in with “All Born Screaming” being chanted over and over.
Which would be fine except this continues for the next two and half freaking minutes with NO payoff. “All Born Screaming” is repeated fifty times and then the album promptly ends. Honestly if this ends up on the radio, it will be cut off at 3:25 or thereabouts because there is no way the average listener will listen to that. The song is self-indulgent and unfocused. While it’s certainly a closing type track, I don’t need to listen to endless chanting or else I might start screaming. What a miserable way to end an album.
*Deep Breath* Ignoring three of the last four songs, this album is actually quite good. Broken Man, Big Time Nothing and Violent Times are great songs that I will be listening to years from now. Similarly, Reckless and Hell is Near are quality secondary tunes that get better over each listen. Maybe I am being a bit harsh with tunes like Flea and Sweetest Fruit, maybe. But the other three songs, they could have benefitted from some polish, it has to be said. They need to be re-tooled, re-focused or removed from existence (The Power’s Out, I’m looking at you).
I’m not going to pretend like a lot of music critics and say this is “peak” St. Vincent or it’s her realest album to date. That’s not me, and I’m not getting paid by Rolling Stone either. I bought my album out of my own pocket. Is it very good? Sure. But it’s not St Vincent’s best album, it’s not better than Daddy’s Home even. If you are an St Vincent fan, you’ll probably get this anyway and only rip half the album. Casual fans will want to stick with Masseduction or St Vincent’s self titled album (or Strange Mercy). Recommended for the hardcore St. Vincent fans though I think most people will find a song or two they really want to listen on repeat. Enjoy.
