No Kisses, No Real Names

St. Vincent @ Webster Hall 11/3/2011

Surgeon / Cheerleader / Save Me From What I Want / Actor Out of Work / Chloe in the Afternoon / Dilettante / Cruel / Just the Same But Brand New / Champagne Year / Neutered Fruit / Strange Mercy / She Is Beyond Good and Evil / Northern Lights / Year of the Tiger / Marrow // The Party / Your Lips Are Red

I wrote a review of this show for Rolling Stone. Go read it.

St. Vincent “Chloe in the Afternoon”

There are a few pronouns scattered through “Chloe in the Afternoon,” but it’s hard to get a read on the perspective. Maybe that’s the point, though: The BDSM prostitution scenario described by the lyrics is a fantasy played out as a strictly professional transaction, and so both parties are at some distance from the experience. The woozy atmosphere and sterile electronics contrast nicely with violent, highly gestural guitar parts and perhaps the most overtly sexy vocal performance of Annie Clark’s career to date. It’s exactly the right tone for a song that evokes equal parts kink and disassociation.

Buy it from Amazon.