“Bicycle” is dizzy, distant, repetitive – piano and keyboard in a redundant, spiraling whirl, like the spinning of wheels on a bicycle. Annie Clarke’s voice is sweet, haunting, mingled with accordion and drums that echo, and she sings about how love can be like a ghostly encounter (“I blinked, and you were gone”). Listening to this song makes you feel like Annie – followed by a ghost, a deliberate and haunting presence. It’s beautiful, and mesmerizing.
Give it a listen, or two. Continue reading →
Once again, St. Vincent (Annie Clark) shows off her magnificent flair for orchestration and production, as “Actor Out Of Work” is not driven by her voice, but by the intense, aggressive beats, horns, and fuzzy guitars behind it.
St. Vincent’s 2007 album, Marry Me, was one that I just kind of missed. In a year of Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, and Band of Horses, talented Polyphonic Spree member Annie Clark’s album flew right by me. But after a few quick listens, I can tell why she garnered such great praise- the woman clearly knows how to make innovative, lush, orchestral music. And her latest, “The Strangers,” is no exception.
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