Annie Clark
Encyclopedia
Annie Erin Clark is an American
multi-instrumentalist
and singer-songwriter
who performs as St. Vincent. She was a member of The Polyphonic Spree
and also part of Sufjan Stevens
' touring band, prior to forming her own band.
Clark currently resides in Manhattan
.
Her debut album, Marry Me
(2007) was released to critical acclaim, and was followed by the more commercially-successful Actor
(2009). Her third album, Strange Mercy
, was released on September 13, 2011.
Clark has opened shows for such acts as Television
, Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird
, Jolie Holland
, John Vanderslice
, Xiu Xiu
, Death Cab for Cutie
, Cristina Donà
and Grizzly Bear
. She worked with Bon Iver
on the song "Roslyn", which appeared on the film soundtrack of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. She also worked with Kid Cudi
on the song MANIAC for his album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
along with rapper Cage.
. She began playing the guitar at the age of 12 and, as a teenager, worked as the tour manager for her uncle's band Tuck & Patti
. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, and attended Lake Highlands High School
, graduating in 2001.
Following this, she went on to attend Berklee College of Music
, before dropping out three years later. In retrospect, Clark said, "I think that with music school and art school, or school in any form, there has to be some system of grading and measurement. The things they can teach you are quantifiable. While all that is good and has its place, at some point you have to learn all you can and then forget everything that you learned in order to actually start making music." In 2003, during her time at Berklee, she released an EP with fellow students, entitled Ratsliveonnoevilstar
. Shortly after leaving Berklee, Clark returned home to Texas where she joined The Polyphonic Spree
just before their embarking on a European tour. In 2004 she joined Glenn Branca
's 100 guitar orchestra for the Queen performance.
Clark left The Polyphonic Spree and joined Sufjan Stevens
' touring band in 2006, bringing with her a tour EP entitled Paris Is Burning
. It contains three tracks, including a cover version
of Jackson Browne
's "These Days
".
where the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas
died in 1953. “It’s the place where poetry comes to die,” she has said. “That’s me.”
Clark released her debut album, Marry Me
on July 10, 2007 on Beggars Banquet Records
. Named after a line from the television show Arrested Development, the album features appearances from drummer Brian Teasley (Man or Astro-man?
, The Polyphonic Spree), Mike Garson
(David Bowie
's longtime pianist), and horn player Louis Schwadron (The Polyphonic Spree).
The album was well-received by critics, with Clark being compared to the likes of Kate Bush
and David Bowie. Clark was lauded for the album's musical arrangements as well as themes and style: "There's a point where too much happiness turns into madness, and St. Vincent's multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark knows this place well". Pitchfork
said "at every turn Marry Me takes the more challenging route of twisting already twisted structures and unusual instrumentation to make them sound perfectly natural and, most importantly, easy to listen to as she overdubs her thrillingly sui generis vision into vibrant life."
The songs featured on Marry Me were largely written when Clark was eighteen and nineteen years old, and, according to Clark, "represented a more idealized version of what life was or what love was or anything in the eyes of someone who hadn't really experienced anything." The album featured its one single, "Paris Is Burning", as well as a music video for "Jesus Saves, I Spend".
In 2008, Clark was nominated for three PLUG Independent Music Awards
for the album: New Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. On March 6, 2008, she won the PLUG Female Artist of the Year award.
Clark, who didn't have a studio at the time, began writing the album in her apartment on her computer using GarageBand
and MIDI, because she had been getting noise complaints from neighbors. The songs were largely inspired by scenes from various children's films; Clark has stated that she would imagine a soundtrack for certain scenes from films when constructing the music and lyrics, including scenes from Snow White
(1937) and The Wizard of Oz
(1939).
The second album, entitled Actor
, was released by 4AD Records on May 5, 2009. The album was also well-received and gained more commercial attention than its predecessor. Spin gave the album eight out of ten stars, noting its "[juxtaposition of] the cruel and the kind, and here, the baroque arrangements are even more complex and her voice even prettier, with both only underlining the dark currents running through her songs". Entertainment Weekly
said the album "plays up the contrasts, [with Clark] letting her church-choir voice linger on lyrics that hint darkly at themes of violence, sex, and general chaos", and branded the album "a uniquely potent cocktail of sounds and moods."
Actor charted well for an independent release, peaking at #9 on Billboard's Independent Albums Chart, and #5 on the Tastemaker Albums Chart. It peaked at #90 on the Billboard 200
. Although the album spawned no singles (except in the UK where "Actor Out Of Work" was issued as a 7" vinyl single), music videos for "Marrow" and "Actor Out of Work" were released, and aired on several music channels.
, a follow up to Actor. In early March, producer John Congleton
, who also worked with Clark on Actor, commented that he and Clark were nearly a third of the way through recording the new release. On July 4, Clark stated via Twitter that if enough followers tweeted the hashtag "#strangemercy", she would release a track from the album. On July 22, after the threshold was met, she released "Surgeon" for download and streaming on her official website.
In August 2011, Clark was interviewed and featured on the cover of SPIN magazine. On August 24, 2011, a music video was released for the song "Cruel", and on September 5, the entire album was put up for streaming on NPR Music
. The album was released on September 13, 2011.
Strange Mercy received widespread acclaim from music critic
s. The album achieved an overall rating of 8.1/10 at AnyDecentMusic?
based on 36 reviews. The album was St. Vincent's highest-charting album yet, peaking at #19 on the US Billboard 200
. Regarding the album Annie Clark has stated "I don't think it's the best record I'll ever make, but I think it's a good record."
In addition to guitar, Clark also plays bass, piano, and organ, and her music also often features violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, clarinets, and other instruments. Her unorthodox musical style has been characterized by critics as a mixture of chamber rock, pop, indie rock
, and cabaret
jazz
.
As of late 2011, her pedal board includes the following: Korg PitchBlack, DBA Interstellar Overdriver Supreme, ZVex Mastotron Fuzz, Eventide Pitchfactor, Eventide Space, BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter, Moog EP-2 Expression Pedal. All her pedals are controlled by a MasterMind MIDI Foot Controller.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
and singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
who performs as St. Vincent. She was a member of The Polyphonic Spree
The Polyphonic Spree
The Polyphonic Spree is a choral symphonic pop rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by Tim DeLaughter. The band's sound relies on a variety of vocal and instrumental color by featuring a choir, flute, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, percussion, piano, guitars, bass, drums,...
and also part of Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...
' touring band, prior to forming her own band.
Clark currently resides in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
Her debut album, Marry Me
Marry Me (album)
Marry Me is the debut album by St. Vincent. The album was released by Beggars Banquet Records in the United States on July 10, 2007. It was released in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2007.St...
(2007) was released to critical acclaim, and was followed by the more commercially-successful Actor
Actor (album)
Actor is the second album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on May 4, 2009, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The first single released was "Actor Out of Work" that April. St. Vincent wrote the album using the computer music application GarageBand.-Reception:The...
(2009). Her third album, Strange Mercy
Strange Mercy
Strange Mercy is the third studio album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on September 12, 2011, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The album's cover art was designed by St. Vincent, and was photographed by Tina Tyrell. The album peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200,...
, was released on September 13, 2011.
Clark has opened shows for such acts as Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
, Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
, Jolie Holland
Jolie Holland
Jolie Holland is an American singer and performer who combines elements of folk, traditional, country, rock, jazz, and blues...
, John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice
John Vanderslice is an American musician and songwriter. Previously a member of the band Mk Ultra, he now records and performs as a solo artist.-Early years:...
, Xiu Xiu
Xiu Xiu
Xiu Xiu is an American avant-garde group originally from San Jose, California. The band is the brainchild of singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart, who has been its only constant member since its inception in 2002. His current bandmate is Angela Seo...
, Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
, Cristina Donà
Cristina Donà
Cristina Donà is an Italian singer and songwriter.She developed a passion for music since she was a teenager, her favorites singers being, among others, Bruce Springsteen, Sinéad O'Connor, Joni Mitchell, Michelle Shocked, Tom Waits, Lucio Battisti, and Beatles .She studied at Accademia di Belle...
and Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear (band)
Grizzly Bear is a Brooklyn-based indie rock band, composed of Edward Droste , Daniel Rossen , Chris Taylor and Christopher Bear . The band employs traditional and electronic instruments...
. She worked with Bon Iver
Bon Iver
Bon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
on the song "Roslyn", which appeared on the film soundtrack of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. She also worked with Kid Cudi
Kid Cudi
Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi , better known by his stage name Kid Cudi , sometimes stylized KiD CuDi, is an American rapper, singer and actor. He first gained major attention after the release of his debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi. In 2009, his single "Day 'n' Nite" reached the top five of the...
on the song MANIAC for his album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager is the second studio album by American recording artist Kid Cudi. The album was formerly known as Cudder: The Revolution of Evolution, before being renamed. The album was released November 9, 2010 by GOOD Music and Universal Motown.Man on the Moon II: The...
along with rapper Cage.
Early life
Annie Clark was born in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. She began playing the guitar at the age of 12 and, as a teenager, worked as the tour manager for her uncle's band Tuck & Patti
Tuck & Patti
Tuck & Patti are an American husband and wife jazz duo.Oklahoma born guitarist Tuck Andress met singer Patti Cathcart, a native of San Francisco, at an audition in Las Vegas in 1980. Prior to this, Tuck had been a session performer with The Gap Band....
. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, and attended Lake Highlands High School
Lake Highlands High School
Lake Highlands High School is a secondary school serving grades 10-12 located in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas, Texas, United States, primarily serving the Lake Highlands community. The school is part of the Richardson Independent School District and is located centrally within Lake Highlands...
, graduating in 2001.
Following this, she went on to attend Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, before dropping out three years later. In retrospect, Clark said, "I think that with music school and art school, or school in any form, there has to be some system of grading and measurement. The things they can teach you are quantifiable. While all that is good and has its place, at some point you have to learn all you can and then forget everything that you learned in order to actually start making music." In 2003, during her time at Berklee, she released an EP with fellow students, entitled Ratsliveonnoevilstar
Ratsliveonnoevilstar
Ratsliveonnoevilstar is a 2003 EP release by American musician Annie Clark. The title is a palindrome.This EP was recorded while Clark was a student at Berklee College of Music. Other Berklee students back her on the release, including jazz bassist Mark Kelley and drummer Walker Adams....
. Shortly after leaving Berklee, Clark returned home to Texas where she joined The Polyphonic Spree
The Polyphonic Spree
The Polyphonic Spree is a choral symphonic pop rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by Tim DeLaughter. The band's sound relies on a variety of vocal and instrumental color by featuring a choir, flute, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, percussion, piano, guitars, bass, drums,...
just before their embarking on a European tour. In 2004 she joined Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca
Glenn Branca is an American avant-garde composer and guitarist known for his use of volume, alternative guitar tunings, repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. In 2008 he was awarded an unrestricted grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.-Beginnings: 1960s and early 1970s:Branca...
's 100 guitar orchestra for the Queen performance.
Clark left The Polyphonic Spree and joined Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...
' touring band in 2006, bringing with her a tour EP entitled Paris Is Burning
Paris Is Burning (EP)
Paris Is Burning is a 2006 EP release by American musician St. Vincent.-Track listing:# "Paris Is Burning"# "What Me Worry"# "These Days"...
. It contains three tracks, including a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
's "These Days
These Days (Jackson Browne song)
"These Days" is a song written by Jackson Browne and principally recorded by Nico, Gregg Allman, and Browne himself in three distinctly different musical styles...
".
St. Vincent and Marry Me (2007)
In 2006, Clark began recording a studio album, under the stage name St. Vincent. Her stage name is a reference to Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical CenterSaint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers ' was a healthcare system, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, locally referred to as "St. Vincent's". St. Vincent's was founded in 1849 and closed in 2010...
where the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
died in 1953. “It’s the place where poetry comes to die,” she has said. “That’s me.”
Clark released her debut album, Marry Me
Marry Me (album)
Marry Me is the debut album by St. Vincent. The album was released by Beggars Banquet Records in the United States on July 10, 2007. It was released in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2007.St...
on July 10, 2007 on Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet is an English independent record label that began as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin, and is part of the Beggars Group of labels...
. Named after a line from the television show Arrested Development, the album features appearances from drummer Brian Teasley (Man or Astro-man?
Man or Astro-man?
Man or Astro-man? is a surf rock group that formed in Auburn, Alabama, in the early 1990s and came to prominence over the following decade.Primarily instrumental, Man or Astro-man? blended the surf rock style of the early 1960s like that of The Spotnicks with the new wave and punk rock sounds of...
, The Polyphonic Spree), Mike Garson
Mike Garson
Mike Garson is an American pianist, most notable for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Billy Corgan, Free Flight, and The Smashing Pumpkins.- Early career :...
(David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's longtime pianist), and horn player Louis Schwadron (The Polyphonic Spree).
The album was well-received by critics, with Clark being compared to the likes of Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
and David Bowie. Clark was lauded for the album's musical arrangements as well as themes and style: "There's a point where too much happiness turns into madness, and St. Vincent's multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark knows this place well". Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
said "at every turn Marry Me takes the more challenging route of twisting already twisted structures and unusual instrumentation to make them sound perfectly natural and, most importantly, easy to listen to as she overdubs her thrillingly sui generis vision into vibrant life."
The songs featured on Marry Me were largely written when Clark was eighteen and nineteen years old, and, according to Clark, "represented a more idealized version of what life was or what love was or anything in the eyes of someone who hadn't really experienced anything." The album featured its one single, "Paris Is Burning", as well as a music video for "Jesus Saves, I Spend".
In 2008, Clark was nominated for three PLUG Independent Music Awards
PLUG Independent Music Awards
The PLUG Independent Music Awards, or just PLUG Awards, began in 2001 as a "cartel" of music lovers ranging from DJs and managers to indie retailers and fans.*This event is not in any way associated with the .-2008:...
for the album: New Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. On March 6, 2008, she won the PLUG Female Artist of the Year award.
Actor (2009) and commercial success
In 2008, after returning to New York from a lengthy tour, Clark began working on her second album. Her inspiration reportedly came from several films, including Disney movies: "Well, the truth is that I had come back from a pretty long — you know, about a year-and-a-half of touring, and so my brain was sort of all circuit boards that were a little bit fried", Clark said. "So I started watching films as sort of a way to get back into being human. And then it started to just really inform the entire record."Clark, who didn't have a studio at the time, began writing the album in her apartment on her computer using GarageBand
GarageBand
GarageBand is a software application for Mac OS X and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts. It is developed by Apple Inc. as a part of the iLife software package on Mac OS X.-Audio recording:...
and MIDI, because she had been getting noise complaints from neighbors. The songs were largely inspired by scenes from various children's films; Clark has stated that she would imagine a soundtrack for certain scenes from films when constructing the music and lyrics, including scenes from Snow White
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
(1937) and The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
(1939).
The second album, entitled Actor
Actor (album)
Actor is the second album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on May 4, 2009, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The first single released was "Actor Out of Work" that April. St. Vincent wrote the album using the computer music application GarageBand.-Reception:The...
, was released by 4AD Records on May 5, 2009. The album was also well-received and gained more commercial attention than its predecessor. Spin gave the album eight out of ten stars, noting its "[juxtaposition of] the cruel and the kind, and here, the baroque arrangements are even more complex and her voice even prettier, with both only underlining the dark currents running through her songs". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said the album "plays up the contrasts, [with Clark] letting her church-choir voice linger on lyrics that hint darkly at themes of violence, sex, and general chaos", and branded the album "a uniquely potent cocktail of sounds and moods."
Actor charted well for an independent release, peaking at #9 on Billboard's Independent Albums Chart, and #5 on the Tastemaker Albums Chart. It peaked at #90 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Although the album spawned no singles (except in the UK where "Actor Out Of Work" was issued as a 7" vinyl single), music videos for "Marrow" and "Actor Out of Work" were released, and aired on several music channels.
Strange Mercy (2011)
On January 12, 2011—according to her Twitter account— Clark stated that she was working on her third album, Strange MercyStrange Mercy
Strange Mercy is the third studio album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on September 12, 2011, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The album's cover art was designed by St. Vincent, and was photographed by Tina Tyrell. The album peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200,...
, a follow up to Actor. In early March, producer John Congleton
John Congleton
John Congleton John Congleton John Congleton (born April 5, 1977 in Lubbock, Texas, United States, is best known as a Grammy-nominated producer/engineer/mixer who made a name for himself in the alternative rock underground via production of his own band, The Paper Chase, and for many other artists...
, who also worked with Clark on Actor, commented that he and Clark were nearly a third of the way through recording the new release. On July 4, Clark stated via Twitter that if enough followers tweeted the hashtag "#strangemercy", she would release a track from the album. On July 22, after the threshold was met, she released "Surgeon" for download and streaming on her official website.
In August 2011, Clark was interviewed and featured on the cover of SPIN magazine. On August 24, 2011, a music video was released for the song "Cruel", and on September 5, the entire album was put up for streaming on NPR Music
NPR Music
NPR Music launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music discovery. The Web site is a project of National Public Radio, a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to 797...
. The album was released on September 13, 2011.
Strange Mercy received widespread acclaim from music critic
Music criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s. The album achieved an overall rating of 8.1/10 at AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates reviews of contemporary music albums, covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots and urban...
based on 36 reviews. The album was St. Vincent's highest-charting album yet, peaking at #19 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Regarding the album Annie Clark has stated "I don't think it's the best record I'll ever make, but I think it's a good record."
Musical style
Clark's music has been noted for its wide array of instruments and arrangements, as well as its polysemous lyrics, which have been described as teetering between "happiness and madness". In response to this, Clark has said, "I like when things come out of nowhere and blindside you a little bit. I think any person who gets panic attacks or has an anxiety disorder can understand how things can all of a sudden turn very quickly. I think I'm sublimating that into the music."In addition to guitar, Clark also plays bass, piano, and organ, and her music also often features violins, cellos, flutes, trumpets, clarinets, and other instruments. Her unorthodox musical style has been characterized by critics as a mixture of chamber rock, pop, indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, and cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
As of late 2011, her pedal board includes the following: Korg PitchBlack, DBA Interstellar Overdriver Supreme, ZVex Mastotron Fuzz, Eventide Pitchfactor, Eventide Space, BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter, Moog EP-2 Expression Pedal. All her pedals are controlled by a MasterMind MIDI Foot Controller.
Albums
- Marry MeMarry Me (album)Marry Me is the debut album by St. Vincent. The album was released by Beggars Banquet Records in the United States on July 10, 2007. It was released in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2007.St...
(2007) - ActorActor (album)Actor is the second album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on May 4, 2009, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The first single released was "Actor Out of Work" that April. St. Vincent wrote the album using the computer music application GarageBand.-Reception:The...
(2009) - Strange MercyStrange MercyStrange Mercy is the third studio album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on September 12, 2011, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The album's cover art was designed by St. Vincent, and was photographed by Tina Tyrell. The album peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200,...
(2011)
Singles
- "Paris Is Burning" (2007) – CD (not released on label)
- "Jesus Saves, I Spend", b/w "These DaysThese Days (Jackson Browne song)"These Days" is a song written by Jackson Browne and principally recorded by Nico, Gregg Allman, and Browne himself in three distinctly different musical styles...
" (2007) – CD, 7" single - "Now, Now", b/w "All My Stars Aligned" (2007) – CD, 7" single
- "Actor Out of Work", b/w "Bicycle" (2009) – 7" single