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 also received universal acclaim 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]
Masseduction
October 13, 2017
- Electric Lady (New York)
- Rough Consumer (Brooklyn)[a]
- Compound Fracture (Los Angeles)[a]
41:36
- Jack Antonoff
- St. Vincent
- Lars Stalfors
Release and promotion[edit]
"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]
Recording[edit]
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]
Music and lyrics[edit]
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]
Commercial performance[edit]
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]
MassEducation
Nina Kraviz Presents Masseduction Rewired
December 13, 2019