Annie Clark, more commonly known by her stage name, St. Vincent, released her fourth solo studio album, St. Vincent, earlier this year in February. There are a lot of notable elements that distinguish this era and record from her previous three: Marry Me (2007), Actor (2009), and Strange Mercy (2011). Most notably, Clark’s former short dark curls were traded in for an Einstein-esque, gray do. Her physical transformation makes sense when it’s coupled with the evolution of her music.
St. Vincent is arguably Clark’s most ambitious work to date. It follows her 2012 collaborative effort with Talking Heads’ David Byrne, Love This Giant; it’s clear that Byrne’s eccentricity rubbed off on Clark, but it would be unfair to her creativity to suggest he was the sole catalyst for her evolution. When one listens to her four efforts chronologically, it’s easy to hear that with each new record, Clark became more interested in creating traditional indie rock songs with elements of chaos sprinkled throughout them (think of the anarchic outro found in Surgeon).
music you may have missed 