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13. St. Vincent - St. Vincent (2014)

Indie Pop

Commercially viable pop music is all-too-frequently represented by characters who really belong at the kid’s table. There’s nothing intrinsically immature about the genre, but its inherent appeal tends to result in the propagation of the lowest common denominator rather than promoting those who seek to push the bounds of what pop can be. St. Vincent’s eponymous fourth album features a regal depiction of the artist atop a plush throne that might just be located at the head of pop music’s grown-up’s table.

On her self-titled album St. Vincent, has created perhaps the best example of what pop music can be when unencumbered by shallow, Top 40 aspirations. Thematically dense and decidedly mature, though not in an obscene sense, St. Vincent is a gorgeous examination of life and a celebration of the beautiful minutiae of it that rarely gets the attention it deserves. Her voice deftly swerves from being liltingly angelic on “Prince Johnny”, to cheerleadery on “Digital Witness”, which is a clever third-party assessment of social media culture. “Severed Crossed Fingers” is filled with loving reassurances to the down-and-out and the rudderless. There’s a surprisingly vibrant sense of humor throughout as well.

Sonically, St. Vincent covers a lot of ground. There’s the spastic digital bounciness of “Rattlesnake”, the neo-garage, guitar driven relentlessness of “Birth in Reverse” and the vaguely seductive synth and key heavy intro “Huey Newton”, which slowly evolves into a brash, rattling guitar jam. All of the eclecticness is handled deftly, leaving an end product that’s playfully incongruous yet undeniably cohesive. The bar for what pop music can be is wherever St. Vincent puts it.

*image; cover art for the album St. Vincent by St. Vincent