MassEducation (studio album) by St. Vincent

From VictorVale 02/13/2019 13:54

Delicadas e fortes. Algumas realmente brilharam!

essentially useless

From paladisiac 10/18/2018 14:37

((tori amos * 0.7) + (kate bush * 0.3))

It's perhaps not my place to say whether or not this version of the record was necessary (Annie has explained that it was the result of a musical bond she has with pianist Thomas Bartlett) but overall I feel that this re-imagination is noticeably inferior to the original.

Love it or not, a lot of Masseduction's appeal came from its dense synthpop textures and use of crisp electronic rhythm (which was where Jack Antonoff's work on the record really elevated it). While Annie's vocals are still as addictive as ever here, I feel as if the stripped-down piano arrangements neuter many of these songs and rob them of the 'punch' that was so present on the original record.

For what it is, it's nice enough. Bartlett's piano playing is really beautiful when it's allowed to shine (on tracks like 'Sugarboy' and 'Hang on Me') but on many others, these songs seem to lack the same substance as the original record.

6/10.

Favorites: Sugarboy, Hang on Me, Happy Birthday Johnny

rlly not neccessary.......... at all. these "slower, stripped back, acoustic" songs taken from the excellent masseduction will no doubt appeal to rockists who were turned off by the poppy production on last year's record (you know, the idiots who think this sort of music is instantly superior to electropop !!), but make no mistake, although technically accomplished, these tracks are really quite boring in comparison to the original versions and render themselves soporific and essentially useless.