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Beneath her charming appearance and demeanour, Annie Clark isn’t quite so sweet; she took the stage name St. Vincent from the name of the hospital where Dylan Thomas passed away, referring to herself as “the place where poetry comes to die”. And despite her meagre 26 years, she certainly has racked up some valuable experience, initially as a member of Tim Delaughter’s epic project The Polyphonic Spree and later in Sufjan Stevens’ touring band. She’s equally adept on guitar and keyboard in addition to her vocal talents and as if all that wasn’t impressive enough, she wrote, arranged and co-produced this release herself. In short, she’s a force to be reckoned with.
Similarly, the seemingly blithesome musical constructions on Actor, generally belie a much grimmer subject matter, like on the opener ‘The Strangers’ where the cinematically idyllic backdrop makes a stark contrast to the bitter scenes portrayed in the lyrics and the distant chant of ‘Paint the black-hole blacker’. With St. Vincent, many of life’s joys possess a sinister edge; in ‘Marrow’, Clark sings ‘Mouth connects to the teeth/And teeth to the loves and curses’. And how’s a song entitled ‘Laughing with a Mouth of Blood’ for a character clash?
It’s undeniable that this artistic contradiction lends the whole affair a somewhat creepy trait, but if you can get past that (or stop revelling in it if you are that way inclined) then this album has so much to offer. The music here is stunningly beautiful and masterfully written; Clark has taken the best of her mentors and created her own, atmospheric and spacious, but deeply personal sound-world. Chords twist and turn along unexpected but highly enjoyable paths while a vast array of instruments and effects paint a landscape of psychedelic colour.
Whatever your mood, St. Vincent’s music can match it, whether it’s the lilting melancholy of ‘The Neighbours’, the stamping forward-drive of ‘Actor out of Work’ or the gradually intensifying ‘Black Rainbow’. I must confess I knew very little of St. Vincent before listening to Actor, but I won’t be forgetting her anytime soon.
St. Vincent tours in July, including performances at Wireless Festival, Oxegen Festival and Latitude Festival.
St. Vincent: official website | MySpace | on Spotify
This album is amazing. I've listened to it over and over and it still gets better. As much as I love her debut 'Marry Me', I think this is even better.
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