St. Vincent

Annie Clark aka St. Vincent's 5th album, Masseduction (read "Mass Seduction," not "Mass Education), is about love, she says. The New York-based musician worked with producer Jack Antonoff for the 13-tracker, and there are plenty of clues as to the first-person nature of the release: the lead single, "New York," contains lyrics like "You're the only motherfucker in the city who can handle me," is very widely gossiped (the media loves covering Clark) to be about her ex, Cara Delevingne, and another song, "Pills," even features the model/actress singing the hook (also, in an interview, Clark mentions "I was trying to get through pharmaceutically."). On the music side, it's guitar, piano, synth, strings, and "drum beats that punch with purpose" (courtesy of Sounwave) that set the mood, and she also enlists help from Thomas Bartlett (piano), Kamasi Washington (saxophone)," and Jenny Lewis (vocals) to complete a sexy, chic rock backdrop also informed by new wave, ambient, and pop. If 2013 self-titled LP leaned toward the experimental, this album is certainly more accessible, but the shift happens without Clark losing any of the cheeky, chic edge that seems and sounds so naturally ingrained in her.