St. Vincent Cruel

St. Vincent's back and fiercer than ever!! Strange Mercy (out on September 13) is Annie Clark's third album, and she continues to show that she's obviously not afraid of exploring the musically unknown. Annie is fearlessly and unapologetically creating a one-woman genre. I advise you to approach this album with a clean slate and leave room for whatever obscure possibilities you think sweet Annie is capable of... you'll probably still be taken off guard.

The album is kicked off with a track called "Chloe in the Afternoon." Don't let its off-kilter volatility steer you away from listening to the rest of the album. Even if this track is not your cup of tea, the rest of the album is not all the same, let alone similar to the opening track. It's almost as if the opening track is there to condition you for some pleasant danceable surprises. There's a great emphasis on synth-driven electronics and gnarly grunge-filled electric guitar throughout this album. Those two mediums combined with a wistful, fairy-tale femininity makes for quite the mindfuck. Where Annie gets these experimental concepts for Strange Mercy, I'll never know, but she had this quick explanation to offer:

"I want to make dance music for people who can't really dance. It's really necessary to root the whole thing to earth" - online.wsj.com

Annie can try to do as much "earth rooting" as she wants but this album is classified as otherworldly until someone comes up with a name for this genre that she's creating. Take a listen to her featured song, "Cruel," and try to keep your head from spinning. September 13 is almost here!