St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (Cruel)

On the last St. Vincent album, Actor, the amazing Annie Clark was still finding out the strengths of her craft. An album that was one of the best of that year, she returned with Strange Mercy for more of the great form we’ve come to expect from St. Vincent. Already a strong discography, this album featured more of the same bite with a fusion of songwriting and blends of sounds that focused more on the greatness of timely touches, rather than Disney love. There were a lot of strings again and more of the fitting guitar solos with her now trademark spectacular voice and yet I barely got it on vinyl today. I wanted to share at least some of it here and well, mostly her since she is so tremendous (for sure) here as well. Maybe some other and more later.

On “Cruel” she sounds instantly sweeping at first, with those lush and enveloping strings before she paces it with a steady beat. As she sings “Crr---uuu—ee—lll” and the guitar comes scratching in, the way the strings balance out the grittiness with the whimsical is brilliant. There’s a play on rhythms and how the drums can bounce off each other’s beats, her guitar as it gets a little more forceful as the song sways in and out and her voice: bellowing, sounding entirely mesmerizing. Her voice really is a thing of beauty – the way she is able to maneuver the slightest of adjustments and turn them into head-turning twists of magnificence – there’s a strong skill set due to her classical leaning but man, she sounds so assured here. The song is crisp and in your face. An unabashed good time of morbid decadence. It’s pretty bad ass really.

I found this video just recently and decided it would be good to show it here. I love the way she shows off her guitar playing and how she’s in these beautifully dainty and sweet outfits. – Bryan