9/10
Throughout her tenure over the years, Annie Clark's St. Vincent project has been seen as one of the more ambitious and innovative doing the rounds. And after joining super-producer Jack Antonoff once again for her 2021 LP 'Daddy's Home', it felt as though she was beginning to move away from her formative sound in pursuit of something more contemporary. But after three years to work out her next move, she has gone back to the absorbing aesthetic of her infancy with her seventh studio album 'All Born Screaming', a record that builds upon her enigmatic foundation.
Keeping this release completely self-produced this time around, St. Vincent brings in the aid of Dave Grohl, Cate Le Bon, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Josh Freese, Stella Mozgawa and many more to bring her latest instalment to life. From the very start, 'All Born Screaming' is a far different beast than its predecessor. Gone are the rich and glossy textures of her more popular work as she moves with this dark and brooding energy across this ten-track collection, making for some of her most riveting and emotive material yet.
While the quirky electronic moments are still a staple on this new release, 'All Born Screaming' feels like Clark at her rawest to date. She is subverting commercial expectations on this new offering, and delivering one of her most intriguing LPs of her already impressive career so far.