Anne Clark is no stranger to the music world. While still a student at Berklee College of Music she released a three-track EP in 2003 titled Ratsliveonnoevilstar. From here she would become a member of Sufjan Stevens’s touring band, however, most might be wondering who Anne Clark is. Why? Because she is more commonly known by her onstage persona St. Vincent.
Now that you have a clear picture of who is being discussed, St. Vincent has built a name for herself as an exceptional guitarist and her unique approach to music. Releasing the debut St. Vicent album Marry Me in 2007, she drew attention with a very experimental form of Rock-n-Roll. Growing from here and taking the music in various directions, 2009’s Actor was more Pop-oriented, while she continued to try different sounds on future albums, including her 2014 self-titled and the extremely well-received 2017 effort Masseduction. In fact, Masseduction was truly a mainstream breakthrough for St. Vincent, because it not only topped various charts but won the award for Best Recording Package and Best Rock Song for the title-track.
A well-deserved dose of acknowledgment for the talented St. Vincent, 2021’s Daddy’s Home would be another exploration in sound that earned yet won another Grammy, this time for the Best Alternative Music Album at 2022’s 64th Annual Grammy Awards. So, where does St. Vincent go from here? Simple, down a path towards more success with her 2024 studio album All Born Screaming.
Released on April 26, 2024, All Born Screaming marks St. Vincent’s seventh studio album, but her first via her own label Total Pleasure Records. Distributed by Virgin, it also marks the first studio album produced solely by St. Vincent herself. Giving the musician complete control of her work, the story goes that she went to work on new music almost immediately following the release of Daddy’s Home. Exploring once more, this time she found an interest in drum machines and old-school modular synthesizers… which is ever-present in much of All Born Screaming. With this in mind, amidst these development stages, she recorded tons of ideas. Something that could be overwhelming if you are presented with so many hours of tape, St. Vincent amazingly focused the vision of the music into her new album.
In ways much different from Daddy’s Home, All Born Screaming has a dark undertone, while bordering along the lines of Alternative Rock, Industrial Rock, and Synth-Rock. All with a splash of Pop inclination, the album flows smoothly and takes you in various directions you will not see coming.
Led by singles like “Broken Man,” “Flea,” and “Big Time Nothing,” in these three examples alone, you hear different sounds. First, “Broken Man” has a very Post-Punk vibe, while “Flea” has a more ‘90s Alternative Rock sensation, and “Big Time Nothing” has a saturation of Dance Rock. However, this is not where the shifts end, because “Reckless” builds from organic, simple notes, into something far more Synth-Rock. This is while others like “Violent Times,” “Sweetest Fruit,” and “So Many Planets” all engulf you in a highly psychedelic sensation.
Overall, All Born Screaming is an album that pushes the envelope… even for someone like St. Vincent. It is something that continues to extenuate that St. Vincent is fearlessly her attempt to keep the music interesting. Some may say that it is a bit too eccentric, but if they approach it with an open mind, they will see there is a design here that is so delightful. Approaching the end of another year, St. Vincent continues to surprise with the November 15th release of the Spanish-language edition of All Born Screaming called Todos Nacen Gritando. You never know what St. Vincent will do next, and that is why Cryptic Rock gives All Born Screaming 4 out of 5 stars.
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