Album Review: St. Vincent- Actor

A few weeks ago I met Annie Clark, the waifish, bright-eyed chanteuse behind St. Vincent, outside of a record store in Georgia. She was there with some family, who were laughing and pointing at the record cover for her new album "Actor," which is essentially a huge picture of her face, in the window, and urging her to go in and buy a copy.

The cover of "Actor" can speak to the music as well. Clark is pictured staring into the distance, her eyes wide and her hair curling in every direction. The result makes her look like some sort of otherworldly fairy. This large image of her face is set against an almost garish orange background. Similarly, Clark's music is composed of her ethereal, breezy vocals over top jarring, distorted guitars and drums.

Given her background as a former member of the Polyphonic Spree, and given that I never heard her first album "Marry Me," I expected St. Vincent to be light, poppy ballads, bordering on twee. As I mentioned before, the music is quite the contrary. First of all, it's loud. While Clark's voice might be light, songs like "Actor Out Of Work" and "Save Me From What I Want" are thick with distortion and wrecking beats. After stalking YouTube, I learned that Clark is a master on the axe, and shreds live like a member of an 80's hair metal band.

On the other hand, she does have a more restrained side. "Black Rainbow" is a hushed track that pairs Clark's voice with jabbing guitar and floating keys. Eventually, however, the song climaxes in a goopy, cinematic swamp of organ, strings, and synth.

If "Actor" proves anything, it's that Clark is a master of both the quieter, simpler aspects of songwriting and the convoluted, complicated aspects of orchestral arrangements and production. Even on tracks like the jazzy and buoyant "Laughing With A Mouth Full Of Blood" Clark layers vocal effects, strings, stuttering drums, and a plethora of other instruments without sounding overcrowded or noisy.

I can't wait to get more into St. Vincent's catalog after hearing "Actor." This is a truly dynamic album featuring an extremely talented songwriter and artist.

Adventures in Atlanta

My sister graduated from college last weekend, so my family went down to Atlanta. Here's my weekend in music:

Most listened album: Only Way To Be Alone- Good Old War (runner-up: It's Blitz!- Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
Most listened song: Hysteric- Yeah Yeah Yeahs (runner-up: Glad Girls- Guided By Voices)
Songs heard performed by an a capella group: I think about 8, including Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss," and Blackstreet's "No Diggity."
Record Stores Visited: One- Decatur CD. It was a pretty cool little shop. Mostly CD's, but also a fairly good collection of new and noteworthy vinyl. The walls were covered in signed Wilco posters, which, in my book, is enough to make me love a store.
Albums bought: Just one, and not even a full album- Fleet Foxes's new Mykonos 7''.
Artists Met: One- Annie Clark of St. Vincent! After buying the Fleet Foxes 7'' at Decatur CD, I was waiting outside for my dad and brother to finish up. A group of four or five (including an adorable baby!) were walking past and they started laughing and pointing to something inside the store. I had a weird feeling I recognized one of the women, and once one of the men said, "Hey Annie, it's you!" [in reference to her face, plastered on the front of her fantastic new album "Actor"] I knew it was in fact St. Vincent. When I asked if she was, they all laughed and said yes. The whole group was very friendly and left me smiling. I was definitely starstruck! And yes, Annie is as pretty in person as she is on the covers of her albums.

New St. Vincent Video- Actor Out Of Work

I've always heard really good things about St. Vincent but of the clips and tracks I've heard of her music, I've never loved it. However, I heard some good things about her upcoming album, "Actor," so I decided to give her music a second chance. I'm glad I did. The latest song of hers is "Actor Out Of Work." The juxtaposition of the chunky, distorted guitar and synth behind her sweet, airy vocals makes for a really funky tune. I've fallen in love with this song and it's inspired me to go looking for the rest of her stuff.

Also, I love the music video. It features actors trying to cry on command while Annie Clark (St. Vincent) sings with a straight yet dramatic face (if that makes any sense...). It reminds me a lot of this short film on Encyclopedia Pictura called "The Competition" where people compete to cry on command. To reach "The Competition," go to Encyclopedia Picture, then click HTML (or Flash, doesn't matter I guess), then click "Working With Wholphin," then click "The Competition."

Actor Out Of Work- St. Vincent