st. vincent::actor::stream the full album courtesy of npr.org

npr comes through with this crucial free stream of st. vincent’s new album, “actor,” due out may 5. the album is a solid expansion of the principles of music writing developed on “marry me”—sudden shifts in style, lots of layers, unexpected rhythms, annie clark being my dream girl—but plays smoother.

the opening track, “strangers,” is one of the best jams of the year, all dreamy and dark. nothing else on the album quite catches up to it, the other tracks feel almost too dense without much to break them apart. but everything very fruitfully tinkers with the headier melodies and surprising assemblage that is the new what’s next in indie music. and st. vincent does it very well.