2. St. Vincent – St. Vincent
St. Vincent has always flown under the radar for me, I’ve enjoyed her albums before but was never blown away. Until this album. The pop influences and guitar riffs drew me in almost instantly. The album features so many sporadic guitar riffs over melodic pop lyrics that it’s hard to not enjoy these songs. Not all tracks are guitar driven or overly pop influenced, some are darker like “Huey Newton” which includes a dark slow build to a heavy bass line that rattles your bones. With her fourth album release, St. Vincent has to be Annie Clark’s tightest most well produced album to date. From the start you’re hit with her pop styling with the album opener “Rattlesnake,” about her experience drinking too much tequila at a friend’s ranch and wandering the night until she encounters a rattlesnake and sprints back. “Birth In Reverse” was the track that drew me in, thumping drums over slightly muted distorted guitars that end up puncturing your ears with art-rock guitar riffs.
