Acclaimed Music Forums

I wanted to give this its own topic, because damn. This just might be my album of the year, and this is a year where my favorite band released their first album in seven years and actually managed to match my expectations.

I'm not sure what the standout tracks are yet, but the way everything flows together, this is one of the most seamless works I've seen in years; nothing feels out of place here. Every album St. Vincent makes is better than the one before it, which is becoming quite impressive since her last album was my album of the year for 2014.

Certified Bangers here!

I don't know how she manages to just get consistently get better and better with every album, but I'm so thankful that she does.

Just... wow. No one knows quite how to sequence album like her.

Can't see another album topping it this year, which will mean this is the third time she's ended up being my album of the year.

The title is amazing. I can say that much for now.

prosecutorgodot wrote:The title is amazing. I can say that much for now.

I originally read it as "mass education."

As with almost all her albums I find the flow a bit distracting (and I'll say it again make a couple of these track B-Sides). Move 'Johnny and New York off the record (even though I enjoy them) and you take out the speed-bumps that slow down the middle section of the album. Despite my pedantic thoughts on track lists, I love most of the tracks on here, Los Ageless will be high on my songs list and the album will have a Top 10 spot for sure.

I wish the "Los Ageless Theme" wasn't as overplayed in Sugarboy, it's a fun little detail but then they just went to town with it, and I'm not sure the end result benefits the song.

veganvalentine wrote:

prosecutorgodot wrote:The title is amazing. I can say that much for now.

I originally read it as "mass education."

I almost put that in the Upcoming Albums post for this month. And then I spent a week wondering what Mass Eduction means...

Just listened to it not realizing Spotify was on shuffle. Sounds God so far but no idea how pacing is.

Jirin wrote:Sounds God so far

Well, I wouldn't necessarily go that far, but she is extraordinarily gifted...

All joking aside, after two listens this is sounding like the album of the year. Annie Clark really is an artist who's gotten better and better with each successive album, and MASSEDUCTION is a flat-out masterpiece from beginning to end.

It's fascinating to compare this album with Lorde's Melodrama, also co-produced by Jack Antonoff. Both albums have a fantastic electro-pop sheen, but there's not really a noticeable transformation of St. Vincent's sound here as there very much is for Lorde - Clark was already moving heavily in this direction.

Interesting gossip-y side note: that's model/actress - and Clark's ex-girlfriend - Cara Delevingne hilariously intoning the chorus on "Pills." I wonder how she feels having a cameo on an album that features a number of songs that seemingly reference how fucked-up she is/was ("Young Lover") and, correspondingly, how fucked-up the relationship made Clark feel (the stunning closer "Smoking Section").

Seeing her live next month, and paid extra for 'enhanced experience'.

I think St Vincent is carrying the torch for Brian Eno/Talking Heads art rock weirdness. Hard to get a handle on a new album though after one listen, but she has been on a streak of great albums since Actor.

Wow Pitchfork only gave it a 76. I thought they’d licking the album cover and shoving their faces up it they were so enamored by her. They must have PURPOSELY waited to see how the others were gonna score it ala Rolling Stone cause they know she’s becoming a tad more in the limelight and getting even somewhat accessible which is why for the first time I actually bought into the hype. Really enjoying this one. She’s my age so I just assumed since she’s no longer a spring chicken I’d never get into her but better late than never cause I finally see what the critics have been raving about, at least with this one album. Hopefully this won’t be the only album of hers I enjoy (like Sigur Rós with Takk...) and she ups the ante with each album after this one.

luvulongTIM wrote:Wow Pitchfork only gave it a 76. I thought they’d licking the album cover and shoving their faces up it they were so enamored by her. They must have PURPOSELY waited to see how the others were gonna score it ala Rolling Stone cause they know she’s becoming a tad more in the limelight and getting even somewhat accessible which is why for the first time I actually bought into the hype.

Eh, I doubt it. Of the album's three pre-release singles, they only gave one a "best new track" designation, so the writing was on the wall for them to not love the album well before other reviews started to come in.

Pitchfork tends to review the hype surrounding an album rather than reviewing the actual music. Masseduction has an 88 on Metacritic.

Still one of my favourite albums this year

After 3 listens, I'm liking it quite a lot so far! Thanks for the rec, notbrianeno! Not sure it can top Strange Mercy for me, but it's consistently very good. Standout track for me so far is "Sugarboy". Yum!

So, update on that 'enhanced experience'.

Just got email saying the photo with her guitar, instead of a digital camera would be taken with a Polaroid camera and the photo given to me immediately instead of emailed.

Oh great, so instead of high quality picture I can put on social media I get to have a low quality picture I have to carry around with me in my sweat moistened pocket where it will get curved out before I have to scan it to put a glossed up faximile of it online.

This is pretty super lame. I feel like I made a wish on a monkey paw.

This gets better with every listen

Top 3: Pills, Los Ageless, Smoking Section

I'd be interested to hear what others think of the live show, I hope you have a good time Jirin.

Maschine_Man wrote:I'd be interested to hear what others think of the live show, I hope you have a good time Jirin.

I've seen her live before, she is excellent live.

Just her business model of forcing you to pay way extra for tickets that are normally priced same as every other section to stand near the stage and get mediocre perks kinda sucks.

So I think that you actually could buy GA tickets without the enhanced experience, just I think they sold out before I got to them and the website didn't mention they existed.

Anyway big highlight of 'enhanced experience' was a two song acoustic sound check then 30 minute Q&A with St Vincent before the show. Her songs still sound awesome acoustic. And it's weird hearing her talk in non-performance mode. Her performance is very heavily staged down to very deliberate, almost robotic movements. Just talking she's just a normal person.

And I have a signed poster from the tour that might become a collector's item some day. I'm not a poster guy, so just going to leave the wrapping on that.

She seemed like very cool person in Q&A session, though one kind of ironic thing. She kept mentioning 'Consumerism' as a negative, yet she was addressing a crowd who paid $100 extra to hear her say it.

I looked at her set list and she just happens to be in San Diego one of the exact days I'm going to be there. Something to strongly consider. (Not the enhanced experience)

Jirin wrote:So I think that you actually could buy GA tickets without the enhanced experience, just I think they sold out before I got to them and the website didn't mention they existed.

Anyway big highlight of 'enhanced experience' was a two song acoustic sound check then 30 minute Q&A with St Vincent before the show. Her songs still sound awesome acoustic. And it's weird hearing her talk in non-performance mode. Her performance is very heavily staged down to very deliberate, almost robotic movements. Just talking she's just a normal person.

And I have a signed poster from the tour that might become a collector's item some day. I'm not a poster guy, so just going to leave the wrapping on that.

She seemed like very cool person in Q&A session, though one kind of ironic thing. She kept mentioning 'Consumerism' as a negative, yet she was addressing a crowd who paid $100 extra to hear her say it.

I looked at her set list and she just happens to be in San Diego one of the exact days I'm going to be there. Something to strongly consider. (Not the enhanced experience)

I saw St. Vincent live back in 2015 and her on stage banter was some of the best I've seen from any artist. Glad to know she's seemingly always like that.

oh no

Songs:

wrong thread

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