Masseduction | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 13, 2017 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:36 | |||
Label | Loma Vista | |||
Producer |
| |||
St. Vincent chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Masseduction | ||||
|
Masseduction is the fifth studio album by American musician St. Vincent, released on October 13, 2017, through Loma Vista Recordings. [3] The album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200, becoming her first top ten album in the United States. The album was widely praised and was the fourth-most mentioned in critics' year-end lists for 2017. [4] At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Masseduction won the award for Best Recording Package and Best Rock Song for its title track, and was also nominated for the Best Alternative Music Album. [5]
"New York" was released as the lead single from the album on June 30, 2017. [6] The album was announced on September 6 along with a pre-order and the release of the second single, "Los Ageless". [7] The announcement was followed by a series of cryptic, satirical promotional clips Clark (St. Vincent) posted to her social media. Clark hosted a press conference on Facebook Live to announce the album, which was in the style of the sarcastic earlier clips. [8] "Pills" was released as the third single on October 10. [1] The album was promoted on two different tours: the Fear the Future Tour saw St. Vincent performing solo to prerecorded tracks in theatres, while the I Am a Lot Like You! Tour saw her performing with her band mostly in festivals around the world. [9]
The album was produced by Clark and Jack Antonoff at Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan, with additional recording at Rough Consumer Studio in Brooklyn, and Compound Fracture in Los Angeles. [10] It features contributions from Doveman on piano, Kamasi Washington on saxophone, Jenny Lewis on guest vocals, and beat production from Sounwave, as well as pedal steel by Greg Leisz and Rich Hinman, and additional guitar and vocals from her uncle and aunt Tuck & Patti, respectively. [11] [12] Model and actress Cara Delevingne, whom Clark had dated before they split in 2016, provided back-up vocals. [13]
Masseduction has been described as the "culmination of years of writing, with songs crafted from voice memos, text messages, and snippets of melodies that came to Clark while traveling the globe." [8] Clark has stated that the album focuses on themes of power, sex, drugs, sadness, imperiled relationships and death. [8] [9] In a press release, she stated: "every record I make has an archetype. Strange Mercy was Housewives on Pills. St. Vincent was Near-Future Cult Leader. Masseduction is different, it's pretty first person. You can't fact-check it, but if you want to know about my life, listen to this record." [14]
Musically, the album has been characterized as "futuristic" pop, [15] [16] [17] [18] electropop, [19] [16] [17] [18] [20] art pop, [21] glam rock [22] [23] [24] and new wave, [13] [25] while also incorporating ambient rock, [13] [17] "industrial-tinted techno", [16] [26] psychedelic rock, [24] [27] electronic rock [28] and dream pop. [17] It consists of guitar and piano, synths and strings, and drum beats "that punch with purpose". [8]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 8.4/10 [29] |
Metacritic | 88/100 [30] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [31] |
The A.V. Club | A [16] |
Chicago Tribune | [24] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [32] |
The Guardian | [15] |
The Independent | [33] |
NME | [34] |
Pitchfork | 7.6/10 [35] |
Rolling Stone | [36] |
Vice (Expert Witness) | B+ [37] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 38 reviews. [30] According to the site, the album was the fourth-most mentioned in critics' year-end lists for 2017. [4] John Murphy of musicOMH praised the album, saying "it's clear that Clark has not only raised the bar but moved it several notches up. Masseduction is a remarkable record, a certain contender for album of the year and demonstrable proof that Clark is an artist working at the height of her powers," continuing: "Masseduction is nothing less than an absolutely towering achievement. A year after we all mourned the loss of creative geniuses like David Bowie and Prince, we should be thankful that one of their spiritual successors in Annie Clark is on fine form." [20]
El Hunt of DIY wrote, "Along with the equally exceptional St. Vincent which came before it, this is the moment that St. Vincent enters the fabled realm reserved for the greats." [25] Claire Biddles of The Line of Best Fit stated that "ultimately, Masseduction defies explanation and critique, rendering the critic a dead weight in the dust of its ever-accelerating sucker-punch of ideas." [38] Drowned in Sound 's Jude Clarke said, "You wouldn't want one track or note to be changed or left out. It's a genuine masterpiece: complex, funny, sexy, bleak, uplifting, inspiring and enthralling from start to finish." [39] AllMusic critic Heather Phares said "Masseduction delivers sketches of chaos with stunning clarity. It's the work of an always savvy artist at her wittiest and saddest." [31] The A.V. Club 's Annie Zaleski wrote that Clark "perfects her fractured, futuristic pop vision on Masseduction" and that she "captures this emotional roller-coaster in her remarkably genre-agnostic music". [16]
The record made many appearances on best of the decades list. Uproxx listed Masseduction as the 14th best pop album of the 2010s. [40]
Masseduction appeared on multiple year-end lists in 2017.
Publication | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|
The A.V. Club | 2 | |
Billboard | 12 | |
Crack Magazine | 40 | |
Dazed | 13 | |
Drowned in Sound | 4 | |
Entertainment Weekly | 4 | |
Exclaim | 8 | |
Fuse | 5 | |
The Guardian | 1 | |
Les InRocks | 25 | |
Mashable | 8 | |
New York Daily News | 11 | |
NME | 11 | |
Noisey | 9 | |
NOW | 10 | |
Paste | 34 | |
Pazz & Jop | 3 | |
Pitchfork | 22 | |
Q | 6 | |
Rolling Stone | 18 | |
Stereogum | 14 | |
The New York Times (by Jon Pareles) | 1 | |
The Skinny | 13 | |
Slant Magazine | 2 | |
USA Today | 7 | |
Vinyl Me, Please | 2 |
In the United States, Masseduction debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200, becoming St. Vincent's first album to peak in the top ten of the chart. It sold 29,000 units in its first week, 25,000 of which were in traditional album sales. [67] The album debuted at number six in the UK, selling 7,610 copies including streaming. [68]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [69]
All songs written by Annie Clark, except where noted.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Hang on Me" | 2:48 |
2. | "Pills" (Clark, Jack Antonoff, Mark Anthony Spears) | 4:40 |
3. | "Masseduction" (Clark, Antonoff) | 3:17 |
4. | "Sugarboy" (Clark, Antonoff) | 4:01 |
5. | "Los Ageless" | 4:41 |
6. | "Happy Birthday, Johnny" (Clark, Antonoff) | 2:58 |
7. | "Savior" | 3:26 |
8. | "New York" (Clark, Antonoff) | 2:34 |
9. | "Fear the Future" | 2:31 |
10. | "Young Lover" | 3:33 |
11. | "Dancing with a Ghost" | 0:46 |
12. | "Slow Disco" (Clark, Joy Williams) | 2:44 |
13. | "Smoking Section" | 3:37 |
Total length: | 41:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "政権腐敗 (Power Corrupts)" | 3:11 |
Total length: | 44:47 |
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Masseduction. [69]
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [71] | 19 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [72] | 53 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [73] | 36 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [74] | 56 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [75] | 31 |
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) [76] | 61 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [77] | 42 |
French Albums (SNEP) [78] | 119 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [79] | 82 |
Greek Albums (IFPI) [80] | 69 |
Irish Albums (IRMA) [81] | 5 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [82] | 52 |
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ) [83] | 1 |
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [84] | 27 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [85] | 5 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [86] | 76 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [87] | 26 |
UK Albums (OCC) [88] | 6 |
US Billboard 200 [89] | 10 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [90] | 3 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [91] | 3 |
MassEducation | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Remix album by | ||||
Released | October 12, 2018 | |||
Recorded | August 2017 | |||
Studio | Reservoir (New York) | |||
Length | 44:58 | |||
Label | Loma Vista | |||
Producer |
| |||
St. Vincent chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from MassEducation | ||||
|
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 80/100 [92] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [93] |
Clash | 7/10 [94] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [95] |
Exclaim! | 7/10 [96] |
The Irish Times | [97] |
The Line of Best Fit | 9.5/10 [98] |
Pitchfork | 7.2/10 [99] |
Rolling Stone | [100] |
MassEducation is an acoustic reworking of Masseduction, released on October 12, 2018 by Loma Vista Recordings. It was recorded with pianist Thomas Bartlett over two days during mixing sessions of Masseduction, and features sparse piano-driven renditions of the album's songs. It was promoted by a reworking of "Slow Disco" entitled "Slow Slow Disco". [101]
All songs written by Annie Clark, except where noted. All tracks are noted as "piano version".
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Slow Disco" (Clark, Williams) | 2:30 |
2. | "Savior" | 4:18 |
3. | "Masseduction" (Clark, Antonoff) | 3:40 |
4. | "Sugarboy" (Clark, Antonoff) | 3:50 |
5. | "Fear the Future" | 2:20 |
6. | "Smoking Section" | 4:10 |
7. | "Los Ageless" | 5:14 |
8. | "New York" (Clark, Antonoff) | 2:48 |
9. | "Young Lover" | 4:50 |
10. | "Happy Birthday, Johnny" (Clark, Antonoff) | 3:24 |
11. | "Pills" (Clark, Spears, Antonoff) | 5:00 |
12. | "Hang on Me" | 2:54 |
Total length: | 44:58 |
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [102] | 195 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [103] | 36 |
UK Albums (OCC) [104] | 81 |
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [105] | 71 |
Nina Kraviz Presents Masseduction Rewired | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Remix album by | ||||
Released | December 13, 2019 | |||
Label | Loma Vista | |||
St. Vincent chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Nina Kraviz Presents Masseduction Rewired | ||||
|
Nina Kraviz Presents Masseduction Rewired is a remix album curated by Russian DJ Nina Kraviz. It features remixes of Masseduction tracks from a variety of producers including Jlin, Laurel Halo, Population One, Midland, Pearson Sound and Kraviz. It was released by Loma Vista on December 13, 2019. [106]
No. | Title | Remix | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Hang on Me" | Batu Remix | |
2. | "Pills" | Bjarki Remix | |
3. | "Pills" | Population One Remix | |
4. | "Pills" | PTU Remix | |
5. | "Masseduction" | Midland's Mass Seduction Remix | |
6. | "Sugarboy" | Emika Allegiance Remix | |
7. | "Sugarboy" | ChicagoPhonic Sound System Remix by Hieroglyphic Being | |
8. | "Los Ageless" | EOD Remix | |
9. | "Happy Birthday, Johnny" | Fred P Remix | |
10. | "Savior" | Buttechno Remix | |
11. | "New York" | Nina Kraviz Vocal Mix | 5:14 |
12. | "New York" | Nina Kraviz x Lucy Dubbed Out Mix | |
13. | "Fear the Future" | PTU Remix | |
14. | "Young Lover" | Laurel Halo Remix | |
15. | "Young Lover" | Roma Zuckerman Remix | |
16. | "Dancing with a Ghost" | Pearson Sound Remix | |
17. | "Slow Disco" | EOD Remix | |
18. | "Slow Disco" | Nina Kraviz Gabber Me Gently Remix | |
19. | "Smoking Section" | Jlin Remix | |
20. | "Smoking Section" | Mala Remix | |
21. | "Fast Slow Disco" | Steffi Remix |
Anne Erin Clark, known professionally as St. Vincent, is an American musician and singer. Her guitar playing has been praised for its melodic style and use of distortion, and she has been listed among the best guitarists of the 21st century by multiple publications. Rolling Stone named Clark the 26th-greatest guitarist of all time in 2023.
Ceremonials is the second studio album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. It was released on 28 October 2011 by Island Records. The band started working on the album in 2010 and finished it in 2011. The standard edition of the album was entirely produced by Paul Epworth, who also worked prominently on the band's debut album Lungs (2009).
Break It Yourself is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's sixth solo studio album, released on March 5, 2012 through Mom+Pop records in the US and Bella Union in the UK. The track "Lusitania" features a duet with Annie Clark from St. Vincent.
St. Vincent is the fourth studio album by American musician St. Vincent. It was released on February 24, 2014, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States, through Loma Vista Recordings and Republic Records. Produced by John Congleton, it features collaborations with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings drummer Homer Steinweiss and Midlake drummer McKenzie Smith. The tracks were arranged and demoed by Annie Clark in Austin, Texas and recorded at the Elmwood studio in Dallas.
Stories is the second studio album by Swedish electronic music producer Avicii, released on 2 October 2015 by PRMD Music and Island Records. It was produced by Avicii along with Salem Al Fakir, Alex Ebert, Carl Falk, Kristoffer Fogelmark, Martin Garrix, Dhani Lennevald, Ash Pournouri, Albin Nedler, and Vincent Pontare on several tracks. It is his final album before his death in 2018. This album was followed by his 3rd and final album, Tim which was released posthumously in June of 2019.
Beauty Behind the Madness is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on August 28, 2015, through XO and Republic Records. It features guest appearances from Labrinth, Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey. The album was executive produced by the Weeknd, DaHeala and Illangelo, and includes production from Kanye West, Stephan Moccio, Ben Billions, DannyBoyStyles, Max Martin, and Ali Payami, among others.
I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It is the second studio album by English band the 1975, released on 26 February 2016 through Dirty Hit and Polydor. In 2014, frontman Matty Healy released a series of cryptic tweets containing lyrics from the album, revealing its title the following year. After their social accounts were deleted and reinstated with a new visual identity, the band officially confirmed the album in September 2015, a month before "Love Me" was released as the lead single. Over the course of five months, "Ugh!", "Somebody Else" and "The Sound" were released as singles, with "A Change of Heart" released four days prior to release. "She's American" and "Loving Someone" were later released in November 2016 and February 2017 as the final singles.
Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway is the thirty-fifth studio album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released on August 26, 2016, by Columbia Records. Encore is her third studio album of Broadway songs and featured duets with several well-known actors including Jamie Foxx, Melissa McCarthy, among others. The album was promoted with the release of At the Ballet as a single.
Revolution Radio is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on October 7, 2016 through Reprise Records. A self-produced effort, it marked their first release since 2009's 21st Century Breakdown not to be produced by longtime producer Rob Cavallo. It is also their first since said album to be recorded as a trio. Green Day's previous three albums ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! featured touring guitarist Jason White temporarily joining the band in the studio. It is their first album since 2000's Warning to not carry a parental advisory label, although the track "Youngblood" features profanity.
Starboy is the third studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, released on November 25, 2016, through XO and Republic Records. It features guest appearances from Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar, and Future. As the album's executive producers, the Weeknd and Doc McKinney enlisted a variety of producers such as Diplo, Cashmere Cat, Metro Boomin, Frank Dukes, and Labrinth, among others.
"New York" is a song by the American musician, St. Vincent. "New York" was released on June 30, 2017, through Loma Vista as the lead single off of her fifth studio album, Masseduction.
Colors is the thirteenth studio album by American musician Beck, released on October 13, 2017, by Fonograf Records & Capitol Records. The album was recorded between 2013 and 2017, with Beck producing alongside Greg Kurstin. The album's earliest single, "Dreams", was released in June 2015, while three more singles were released between June 2016 and September 2017. The title track was also released as a single in April 2018. The album won the Best Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Carry Fire is the eleventh solo studio album by English rock singer, songwriter and musician Robert Plant, released on 13 October 2017 on Nonesuch/Warner Bros. Records. It was also Plant's second studio album with his backing band the Sensational Space Shifters, although the band is not credited on the front cover.
"Los Ageless" is a song by the American musician St. Vincent. It was released on September 6, 2017, through Loma Vista as the second single from her fifth studio album, Masseduction.
The Ooz is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Archy Marshall, and his second album under the stage name King Krule. It was released on 13 October 2017 via True Panther Sounds and XL Recordings. The album incorporates elements of trip hop, R&B, punk rock, and jazz.
The Thrill of It All is the second studio album by English singer and songwriter Sam Smith. It was released on 3 November 2017 through Capitol Records.
The discography of St. Vincent, an American musician, consists of eight studio albums, two remix albums, four extended plays (EP), 22 singles and 15 music videos. Annie Clark began recording under the St. Vincent name in 2006 and released her debut studio album, Marry Me, the following year. Subsequent releases include Actor (2009), Strange Mercy (2011), and a collaborative album with David Byrne titled Love This Giant (2012). The self-titled St. Vincent album (2014) won a Grammy for Best Alternative Album. St. Vincent's fifth studio album, Masseduction, was released in 2017.
Without Warning is a collaborative studio album by British-American rapper 21 Savage, American rapper Offset, and American record producer Metro Boomin. The album was released on October 31, 2017, by Slaughter Gang, Epic Records, Capitol Records, Motown, Quality Control Music, Boominati Worldwide, and Republic Records. It features guest appearances from Travis Scott and Quavo. Meanwhile, the album's production was handled primarily by Metro Boomin, alongside Bijan Amir, Cubeatz, Dre Moon, and Southside. Without Warning peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200, and received generally positive reviews from critics.
Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez is the seventh studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 23 October 2020 via Parlophone and Warner Records. The album was released as the culmination of Gorillaz' Song Machine project, a web series consisting of a collection of singles and music videos, dubbed "episodes" each featuring different guest artists. The album marked the return of the character Murdoc Niccals in promotional material, after his absence from The Now Now in 2018. The record received positive reviews from music critics.
Daddy's Home is the sixth studio album by American musician St. Vincent, released on May 14, 2021 by Loma Vista Recordings. Like its predecessor, Masseduction (2017), Clark produced the album alongside Jack Antonoff. Daddy's Home was inspired by Clark's father's release from prison at the end of 2019, as well as the musical palette of New York City in the first half of the 1970s. The record musically incorporates lounge-pop and psychedelic music. The album won the award for Best Alternative Music Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)