All Born Screaming, is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock artist, St. Vincent, (real name Annie Clark). A multi-talented musician who sings, and plays the guitar, bass, keyboards, and percussion, I’ve never heard her music, but I have heard of her, as she’s been making music since the early 2000s. She’s also a talented songwriter and producer, and has her own signature Music Man electric guitar, which I’ve played as a teenager. It’s a cool looking retro-futuristic style instrument, and it comes in a variety of colors. I read a Rolling Stone magazine review of one of her past albums, and it had me interested, but I didn’t get around to it. Now that she’s released a new album, I have the opportunity to review it.
We open up the album with the track, “Hell is Near,” and I think it’s important to note that the album has a mixture of art rock, art pop, and progressive rock sounds. I like the groovy bass riff and keyboards as a backdrop to the angelic echoing vocals of Clark. The guitar sounds like something out of an old Western film, or the video game Red Dead Redemption 2. The mention of heaven in the chorus ties in well with the sound of the track. The production is varied and unique, and it sounds different than past rock albums I’ve listened to. “Give it all away, you give it all away 'cause the whole world's watching you.” The glittering piano with those vibrato synths at the end is mesmerizing.
Following that, is the track, “Reckless,” has a theme of death from the very first lines of the intro. “I watched you all night ’til the dawn had come. And the angels came down and picked you up.” Incredibly well-written lyrics on this album, I like the minimalist production on this track, as the soft but melancholy piano chords really hammer home the emotional intent of this track. Anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to this track. I like the lost at sea line of the track. And that instrumental change up with the heavy drums, distorted guitar, and wobbly synths is a complete 180 from the majority of the song, and swells up for a great finale.
“Broken Man,” the lead single, sounds a bit like a track that would fit on Kanye West’s Yeezus, or Kim Gordon’s The Collective. The seductive messiah persona that Clark has on this track feels genuine and bombastic in nature. The instrumentation starts off with a groovy synth bass loop over a metronome-like electronic drum pattern. I like the religious analogy in verse 2, where she says, “Lover, nail yourself right to me. If you go I won’t be well. I can hold my arms wide open, but I need you to drive the nail,” which draws parallels to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. I also love when the distorted guitar comes in at the outro, with Clark’s schizophrenic vocals rounding out an aggressive, but enjoyable track.
“Flea,” the second single off the record, has a much less abrasive sound, and starts out with a simple bass riff, and some gentle guitar, but the chorus becomes heavy with those crashing drums, and heavy bass and guitar power chords. I like how she likens herself into a flea in the relationship, and how stark the difference is between the chorus and the verses. The whirly guitar solo at the bridge is cool as well. Another solid track. The next song, “Big Time Nothing,” has an uptempo drum beat with a funky synth bass riff. I like the guitar licks in the chorus as well, Clark really shows off her talent when it comes to instrumentation and production on this album. Another great track.
“Violent Times,” has some soulful horns in the chorus, with saxophones, trumpets, and trombones in the mix. I love the ghostly beautiful vocals of Clark in the verses and in the chorus, I like the electronic drum rhythm, and the gentle guitar chords, as well. The glimmering synth lead is also a fabulous touch, and makes me feel like I’m experiencing someone else’s dream. The lyrics are well written, I especially like the line, “When in the ashes of Pompeii. Lovers discovered in an embrace for all eternity.” This is easily one of my favorite tracks on the album as I love the production, and overall mournful vibe that Clark has going on on this song. She showcases great vocal range on this track as well. “The Power’s Out,” has this dystopian vibe to it, and I like the electronic sound of this track as well. I also like the use of a weather lyric to convey emotions. “It was pouring like a movie, every stranger looked like they knew me.” It’s a very lyrically visual track, which is always something I like in my music. The haunting guitar solo at the end closes out the track well.
“Sweetest Fruit,” has an instrumental loop that sounds like a marimba of sorts. The fuzzy guitar on top of it creates a unique and memorable sound that lingers in your ears, and it somehow works very well. And when the synth chords come in, it sounds absolutely glorious. I like the electronic production as it reminds me a lot of the sound of It’s Blitz, by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Following that we get, “So Many Planets,” which opens up with this heavenly organ. I like the laidback guitar noodling and harmonizing vocals in the background of Clark’s singing. I like the whole vibe where she’s singing about finding her home planet, hence the track’s title. “I have to visit so many planets, before I find my own.” The guitar solo from Clark is also lovely.
Finally, we have the title track, “All Born Screaming,” featuring Welsh singer Cate Le Bon. Le Bon is the sole featured artist on the album, and her performance is fantastic, even if I slightly prefer St. Vincent’s vocals on this track. My one complaint about this track is that it’s kinda long, nearly clocking in at 7 minutes. Clark showcasing her multi-instrumental talent is easily one of the strongest parts of this album. She produced all the tracks on this album, sang on all of the tracks, and played multiple instruments on this album, such as multiple types of guitars, the synthesizer, the bass, the modular synthesizer, and even the theremin.
To wrap things up, I didn’t go into this album with insanely high expectations, and I think I enjoyed the album even more because of it. I had never listened to a St. Vincent album or song, and I enjoyed the album with it’s variety of minimalist vs. maximalist production, the variety of different sounds she experimented with such as art rock, industrial rock, and electronica. This is an album with a sound that will age incredibly well, and I recommend it to any rock, or alternative rock fan. Now I feel even more motivated to listen to more of St. Vincent’s work.
Overall Score: 8/10
Favorite Tracks: “Hell is Near,” “Reckless,” “Broken Man,” “Flea,” “Violent Times,” “Sweetest Fruit”
Least Favorite Tracks: “All Born Screaming”
Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYJxPg6quL4
Genres: Art Rock/Progressive Rock