CD Reviews: St Vincent

Annie Clark's fourth solo album, which follows last year's Love This Giant collaboration with David Byrne, will do little to shift the perception of her music as art for the arty.

References from '80s New Wave mix with Garbage-style rockers and hooky, Gaga-esque funk-pop songs in what is, for the most part, an ambitious but confusing work that is saved by two songs: Prince Johnny and I Prefer Your Love. The down-tempo trip-hop beats in this winning pair provide space for Clark's excellent vocals to create the emotional pull that is largely missing elsewhere.