Album Review: St Vincent – ‘Actor’

If ever there was a seal of quality on a CD case, the 4AD logo is it. A label of consistently high class releases has once again produced the goods with this latest collection from Sufjan Stevens collaborator St Vincent. There is more than a hint of Stevens here too, at least in the precocity and breadth of the songs, each incorporating a wide range of styles. The Cocteau Twins are evident throughout the quiet wonder of ‘Just the Same But Brand New’ and the nu gaze excellence of School of Seven Bells is matched if not bettered on ‘Save Me From What I Want’.  Thrilling in its ambition yet based on wonderfully controlled atmospherics.