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The original column was published on March 15th, 2019 and can be found below.

I'm not anything at all

I've been leaning into some major escapism this month. Sometimes we all just need a break, you know? Mostly this means I'm reading a lot of sci-fi novels, but I almost always keep music on while I read, to really tune out the distractions and get lost in a world that's got a better sense of morality than the one currently on the other side of my headphones. This time, it's been a lot of St. Vincent, the musical identity of Annie Clark.

St. Vincent's an artist I've only very recently gotten into, specifically with her 2017 record, Masseduction, after I was given it for a network Secret Santa from Falling In Love Montage's Helen. After going backwards through her whole catalog, Masseduction is still my favorite, but recently I've been gravitating towards her debut, 2007's Marry Me. It doesn't have the bombastic and explosive melodies of her latter work, or the complexity of some of her collaborations, like Love This Giant (with David Byrne) does, but Marry Me has really resonated with me beyond an album hiding in the background of my solitary reading sessions. Now, I don't mean the album is best listened to passively, as it's very strong on it's own and certainly deserves your full attention. What I mean is that, unlike the rest of Annie's catalog, Marry Me has a simplicity to the structure of the record that lets you forget just how brilliant it is.

The album has a lot of themes of the naive idealism of love from someone new to it, something I'm always a big sucker for. The overwhelming feelings you're controlled by. The agency you give up to the other person, as you lie awake wishing more than anything that they feel the same way. Thinking, no, knowing, that this is the most important thing in the world, until you come up for air and realize it... wasn't. Until it is again.

But you, you're a rock with a heart like a socket I can plug into at willAnd will you guess, when I come around next, I hope your open sign is blinking stillSo marry me, John, I'll be so good to youYou won't realize I'm gone, you won't realize I'm goneAs for me, I would have to agree, I'm as fickle as a paper doll being kicked by the windWhen I touch down again, I'll be in someone else's armsOh, John, C'mon

But albums about young love are not exactly the hardest thing to find. This album stands out above and beyond for a few reasons. Most importantly, the melodies and instrumentation are very good. It's the kind of album where I struggle to pick what should've been the single.  There's a lot of really great production, a lot in really unexpected places. There are 17 different musicians present on the record and it shows. Lots of strings, brass, and more help to layer the album, but the real shining star is Annie's voice. I really love her guitar playing, too, but her voice ranges from choir backups (alongside the additional singers present) to some raw and straight-from-the-heart solo vocals over a simple piano. The record jumps from full string arrangements to the barest melody and back again without ever feeling jarring or out of place. The highs and lows of love are clear, not only in the lyrics, but in every aspect of the record. Her voice, alongside her writing, is so versatile that listening to her debut, you can clearly see why her records went on to be so unique. The dichotomy is here, bouncing between the simplest and most complex aspects of young love, embracing the overwhelming beauty of it all without ever ignoring the darker sides of it.

It's these deeper and darker sections, like in "Paris Is Burning" or "The Apocalypse Song" that forced my ears to perk up and focus more on the music, even if it meant reading the same page over and over again. St. Vincent lures you in with simple melodies and catchy hooks, but her lyrics and delivery keep you coming back when the record's over. Her other albums, specifically Actor, St. Vincent, and Masseduction, stood out as great records immediately, but Marry Me is more subtle and has been exactly what I've been looking for this month. The slow burn kind of record that you find yourself starting over more often than you realize, even if it's just on in the background... at first. But it won't be for long.