St. Vincent - MassEducation Album Review
Anne Clark, better known by her stage name St. Vincent, is back with a rethinking of her massively successful 2017 album, MASSEDUCTION, this time titled, MassEducation. Utilizing a predominantly piano and acoustic accompaniment, this version is effectively able to dig deeper into the raw emotion in Clark’s songwriting and vocals. St. Vincent had claimed during MASSEDUCTION’s 2017 press release, “You can't fact-check it, but if you want to know about my life, listen to this record,” making her attempt to reinterpret the album with a far more intimate tone all the more gratifying and revealing.
St. Vincent, an alternative and indie rock phenomenon, has released six albums, MASSEDUCTION being her first top ten album on the Billboard 200. She had also worked on a collaborative album with David Byrne of the Talking Heads titled Love This Giant back in 2012. A prominent voice in the LGBTQ community, St. Vincent has often been questioned as to her sexuality and in a Rolling Stones interview back in 2014, she stated, "I think you can fall in love with anybody. I don't have anything to hide but I'd rather the emphasis be on music."
St. Vincent’s utilization of acoustic and piano are really able to exhibit emotions in a far more intimate way, making the reimagining of MASSEDUCTION even more personal and revealing. Similar to how Lady Gaga recently released a piano version of her song “Million Reasons” and how Eric Clapton completely reimagined his song “Layla” through an acoustic adaptation, St. Vincent’s reworking of MASSEDUCTION’s tracks allow for even more transparency.
The opening song of the album “Slow Disco” is a very much improved version of the original track. The somber and reflective sound of the updated song is far more captivating and memorable, as opposed to its slightly less impactful position on the original album. The lyric, “Don’t it beat a slow dance to death?” really shines through and showcases the power in Vincent’s vocals. The next song, “Savior,” is also very exhibiting in Vincent’s emotional songwriting. The song’s extended emotional plea “But then you say Please” has an even deeper resonance with the listener, which on the previous version had been somewhat understated.
While songs such as “Masseduction” and “Sugarboy” don’t take as well to the slower, more intimate interpretation, for the songs that do such as “Smoking Section” and “Hang On Me,” the impact is very fresh and powerful. St. Vincent also experiments with changing the feel of some of the tracks, such as the integration of a far more foreboding sound on the song “Pills,” which is a drastic difference from the original which had a brighter and upbeat tone. St. Vincent’s confessional endings to her songs, such as the one found on “Los Ageless,” “I guess that’s just me, honey, I guess that’s how I’m built/ I try to write you a love song but it comes out all sick,” are stripped down and given their moment of attention, which on their original versions were clouded by the electronic background.
Both MASSEDUCTION and MassEducation have their own artistic relevance and unique sound. Some tracks are better represented on one album as opposed to the other and, in some cases, a track is well exhibited on both albums. Showcasing St. Vincent at her most personal and genuine, MassEducation, is a very innovative addition to her discography, which allows her audience to get an even deeper understanding of both her strong vocals and intelligent songwriting. Hopefully in the future St. Vincent will be able to blend or in some way mesh the two styles so that her songs can become even stronger and emotionally revealing.
Rating: 8/10
Scott Perdue is a sophomore majoring in film/video. To contact him, email rsp5246@psu.edu.
