St. Vincent: Live at The Olympia

Wowzers, who would’ve thought that a member of the gigantic gospel pop ensemble The Polyphonic Spree could ever be capable of this? St Vincent is not just re-inventing herself, but having a good go at turning alternative pop music on its head while she’s at it.

Opening with ‘Rattlesnake’ from her fourth self-titled studio album, which has been greeted by numerous five star reviews and early contender for album of the year mutterings, her stage show is jerky, quirky but gloriously compelling from start to finish.

Annie Clark looks amazing in a black dress emblazoned with what looks like a blurry and bloodied love heart. When she lays back on a white pyramid and sings ‘I Prefer Your Love’, her performance and posture echoes the theatrical pop pantomime of the likes of Madonna or Roisin Murphy.

‘Digital Witness’ and ‘Birth In Reverse’ beautifully exemplify her 2014 sound. She shimmies sidewards across the stage, as a sold-out Olympia deliriously whoops its approval. Clark’s three-piece backing band are impressive multi-taskers. Every single note is performed live. There isn’t a backing track in sight, even though the sound is meticulously precise.

Annie is also one hell of a guitarist, at times channelling the intricate glam rock solos of Mick Ronson mixed with a fuzzy dash of Hendrix. Even slower numbers such as ‘Year Of The Tiger’, one of the most moving songs about depression of recent times, sound louder and more urgent. Some of Clark’s between song banter isn’t quite as effective, but who the hell cares when it looks and sounds this good?

I’m not quite sure if she’s made the best album of the year so far, as Wild Beasts and Mogwai are stronger contenders in my book, but we’ll still be talking about this show for months and years to come.

Tonight, we saw the future of alternative pop music... and its name is St Vincent.