MMM: All My Stars Aligned – St. Vincent

Milo here.

If you hadn’t guessed from the past month or so of *this*, I’m taking another extended hiatus of sorts from Stuff and That, due to my A-levels being pretty unforgiving, raping what free time I do have with barbaric force. Of course, these MMMs have been written a few months in advance, so they’ll be a nice stream of content going up (revenue babeh), but you won’t be getting many full-length articles at least until mid-June, soz.

Anywhom, today, we’re looking at this gorgeous deep cut from St. Vincent’s debut Marry Me, All My Stars Aligned. Check the audio below:

I’m not gonna proclaim to be no St. Vincent superfan, with Marry Me being the only full record of Annie’s that I’ve heard. However, as I made my way through the album, this little beaut of a track washed over me like the sedated waves of a long deceased break, and I’ve been in a daze in the weeks since.
Opening on a slightly too decadent piano line, it would seem that this wouldn’t necessarily be the kind of song that draws me. That is until the serene acoustic guitars, laidback drumming and Annie’s unmistakable style of lyric quickly becomes the forefront of the song. It’s the chorus though that really has me hooked. Annie’s stunningly understated vocals, dabbling on vulnerability and warping and winding though the scales as the piano behind it. The apocalyptic imagery of the lyrics is slightly emphasised by the ghostly backing vocals, which then plateau into a beautiful dispersal of catharsis.
However, the striking bridge of the song, punctuated by stiking violins and this genuinely unnerving backwards-recorded drum line, has a hit of the James-Bonds to it, before transitioning back into that lovely, afore-gushed-over chorus once again. A uniquely delicate track that really has me interested in more from the artist.

Lots of hugs, kisses and lacerations

Milo.