CD reviews
ST VINCENT Masseducation
SADNESS, anxiety, sex and drugs: St Vincent’s Annie Clark covers a lot of ground on her new album. Her palpable nervousness and worry on
Fear the Future, or the deep dive into some painful memories on New York are but a few examples of her heavy material.
Masseducation is not often a light and sunny listen. However, it is a perfectly structured and executed album that allows some lighter moments. These 13 songs feel perfectly balanced — she never gives the listener too much of any one thing. Want laughs combined with social commentary? The sarcastic nursery rhyme of Pills will be your jam. Want slinky, kinky funk music? Try on Saviour for size. The fuzzy dance-punk meets disco of
Sugarboy was the biggest stylistic shock. It’s like her version of Talking Heads meets the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in their electronic moments. She does heavy-heartedness without getting soppy on Smoking Section, which is an achievement in itself. Never mind Clark being an enthralling singer, her explosive guitars are even more impressive. The listener is constantly wrong-footed by her style and will never know for sure when a distorted, slashing guitar line will jump out and surprise. It’s glorious. From the album cover to the big beats, melodies, hooks, guitars, synths and the lyrical themes, it feels like everything on this album was purposefully turned up to 11. It comes busting out of the speakers, even on the quieter songs such as Los Ageless. Quite simply, it is great.
JAY-Z AND DJ PREMIER
7:18 WHAT happens when you take two hip-hop legends and mash up their songs into new songs?
7:18, that’s what. For the guys behind this mix-tape, deejays Mick and Chi Duly, this hour-long outing was clearly a labour of love. It sounds like these verses and beats were made together instead of apart, in the 1990s — which just shows the skill they have. Often, an idea like this one works OK sometimes but gets messy more often than not.
7:18 is an ode to grimy rap from Brooklyn, like each of the main players. Premier wrote plenty of music for folks not from Brooklyn, but Mich and Duly focused on his Gang Starr, MOP, Group Home era and it is a wonderful Tardis trip back in time to the heyday of East Coast rap. Premier’s precise, dark music alongside Mick and Duly’s favourite work by Jay, it is truly a treat for us old-timers. The funny thing about Jay is he still matters in 2017. His album 4:44 this year was his best in a decade. There is no doubt it inspired this reimagining of his work. He is the Rolling Stones of rap music, but is that such a bad thing?