St. Vincent Masseduction LP (Neon Coral Vinyl)

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Annie Clark's fifth solo album as St. Vincent, Masseduction, is the culmination of years of writing, with songs crafted from voice memos, text messages, and snippets of melodies that came to Clark while traveling the globe. Special guests on the album include Thomas Bartlett on piano, Kamasi Washington on saxophone, Jenny Lewis on vocals, and beat production from Sounwave. Greg Leisz and Rich Hinman add pedal steel, and Tuck and Patti Andress (Clark's uncle and aunt) contribute guitar and vocals respectively on select tracks.

"Every record I make has an archetype," St. Vincent said in a statement. "Strange Mercy was Housewives on Pills. St. Vincent was Near-Future Cult Leader. Masseduction is different, it's pretty first person. You can't fact-check it, but if you want to know about my life, listen to this record."

It's the best thing she's ever done, and there are no bad St. Vincent records. It's partly harsh, heady, erotic synth-pop visions steered by her diamond-sharp guitar, and while Clark has written plenty of ballads, there have never been any as brutal and gorgeous as these. Its lurch between apocalypse and ecstasy mirrors how it felt to be kicked in the head by the past couple years.

Annie Clark manages a double gainer with her fourth LP, making both her most hook-filled, pop-savvy set and what feels like her most personal. Memoir-pop cheerleader Jack Antonoff assists on production, ditto Mars Volta head-puncher Lars Stalfors. But it's Clark's wit and the new warmth in her songcraft that make this record so impossible to shake. See the heartbreaking 'Happy Birthday, Johnny,' the wry show tune 'New York,' and the chilling-hilarious 'Pills' – the latter graced with a seizure-inducing Clark guitar outburst and a Kamasi Washington sax coda.