I interviewed Annie Clark once. It was at a time when her nom de plume (St. Vincent) had only just popped up on my radar and had apparently spent lots of time on everyone else’s so I was assigned twenty minutes with the lovely lady on a telephone halfway across the world. The first thing I saw was the video for her single from her Sophomore record, entitled ‘Actor Out Of Work’ which was so beguiling that I had to watch it at least three times (you’ll see it below). You get a pretty good indication of the kind of artist Clark is just from how wicked she is on celluloid, but I’ll be honest, there were only a few cuts from Actor that I actually enjoyed. Meanwhile, the Gods above have dropped her new record, Strange Mercy -out next week on 4AD- in my lap and I love all of it. It’s a lot more guitar-based than her previous albums and this loosening up of indie expectations really allows Clark to fly her freak flag free.
‘Surgeon’ is but one of four songs which are tremendously affective and mark the first twenty minutes of the record, but it’s got the most hooks and also is the most interesting for my money. Starting off with a buzzing synth riff and a loping bass line, it quickly develops by way of some interesting rhythmic subdivisions at the end of each phrase and a gradual building up of sonic elements around Clark’s ever-charismatic voice. But it’s when we hit the first chorus that things start to get really interesting. You’ll hear this wonderfully effected guitar that sounds a bit like Bon Iver’s noodlings on the Blood Bank EP, really warm and muted. It’s complemented by the obligatory orchestra flourishes in the middle before Clark goes into full diva mode and the band kicks it into third gear. Suddenly she’s up an octave, the drum beat has become far more insistent and you’ve got this unison triplet bass and guitar line bubbling while the lead shreds over the top. It could almost be dance music. Considering where it came from, the last minute of ‘Surgeon’ is utterly fascinating, because it bares little or no resemblance to the beginning other than the melody. It’s what lazy journalists like myself typically call ‘a grower’. It’s so freaking cool. Especially the epic, squelching Moog solo. I mean, really, who does that anymore? Chromeo are about to be put out of a job.
Clark is an accomplished musician and this isn’t the first time she’s showed off her chops, but it may be the most impressive. A former member of Polyphonic Spree (aka World’s Happiest Band) and Sufjan Stevens’ touring outfit, the girl’s definitely come into her own right and I am very much obsessed with this record. Never before have the words ‘Best find a surgeon/cut me open’ sounded like such an attractive proposition. There’s so much goodness hiding in the wings with this one; play it a few times and you’ll discover all the magic
St. Vincent – ‘Surgeon’
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