There’s always been something intangible about Wolfgang Voigt’s output as GAS. And really, who cares whether Masseduction represents the “real” Annie Clark or not it’s definitely her most convincing performance yet. But for all its slippery surface bravado, Masseduction also offers a frank exploration of the tension between defiance and vulnerability, hedonism and self-destruction. Accentuated by visual language rooted in leopard print, PVC and hot pink, Masseduction is thrillingly extrovert, and refreshingly brazen in its portrayal of sex and power. Vincent album was billed as Clark’s most transparent to date. Having channelled “Judy Garland on barbiturates” for her 2011 album Strange Mercy, the Texan singer-songwriter seemed poised to play herself on 2014’s self-titled breakthrough, only to rapidly recast herself as “ near-future cult leader” and deliver “ a party record you could play at a funeral.” This fifth St. Vincent’s manifold personas end and Clark’s begins. Blunt is the UK’s most unpredictable artist, and due to its conventional warmth, Hotep is arguably his biggest curveball yet.Īs mocked by Annie Clark herself, during the faux press conference trailing this album, much critical energy has been expended examining where St. Blue Iverson’s Hotep is a laid-back excursion into neo-soul that’s led by silky guitar licks, delicate Rhodes keys, synthesised (or sampled?) strings that bring to mind Blunt’s 2013 album The Redeemer, while the only vocals heard are performed by – if Discogs is correct – Oakland singer-songwriter Jennah Bell. Via YouTube and MediaFire uploads, within a few weeks Blunt shared Babyfather’s Cypher mixtape, the debut release from his band Blue Iverson and Wahalla – an excellent collection of songs recorded with Joanne Robertson in 2014. Whether involved with Hype Williams or not, 2017 was a prolific year for Blunt. 2017 saw a number of Hype Williams records emerge, but a press release for August’s Rainbow Edition LP claimed that Inga Copeland and Dean Blunt had left the project years ago, and that all Hype Williams releases following 2011’s One Nation were in fact fake, the work of “Bare Paigons”.