Album Review...St. Vincent- Strange Mercy LP

        I had the opportunity of seeing St. Vincent around this time last year at a free outside concert in conjunction with my university.  To be honest, the quad was not packed with hundreds of fans sporting St. Vincent t-shirts, but at the same time, I don’t think that's her intention.  What I saw was a delicate yet powerful singer-songwriter and I didn't think much more than that. "Sure, I liked her," I told my roommate afterwards.

      A year later, her third album, Strange Mercy, has been getting rave reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone Magazine as well as NPR, and you know when NPR approves, it’s got to be good.  They seem to have evolved more into the mainstream youth culture pop output and less of what your mom listens to as she drives you to soccer practice, as they are currently streaming the album of their website-  http://www.npr.org/2011/09/04/139946514/first-listen-st-vincent-strange-mercy (But that’s certainly a different topic all on its own.) 

      For Strange Mercy, it’s as though you have to publish your own bad review for this thing to have any negative publicity attached to it.  While obvious differences appear on this album compared to her previous works, Marry Me (2007) and Actor (2009), the change has come with widespread approval.  Pianos and violins have been swapped for the rougher, edgier sounds of electronic drums and synthetic tones.  From the first track, "Chloe in the Afternoon", the heavy synth-sound and electric riffs prove that she’s one to take seriously on this new style.  And while there seems to be a wayward swing towards pop-music and collaborations between traditional sounds and that of synthesizers and techno beats, Annie Walker manages to work it to perfection.  While the big buzz behind the album is the new sound, songs such as "Surgeon" and "Dilettante" hold a slower tempo that most St. Vincent fans can recall from previous tracks. On the last track of the album, "Year of the Tiger," Annie sings the line "Oh America can I owe you one?" as if indebted toward her listeners.  I think at this point, however, we owe her one.

      St. Vincent is definitely not the first artist to make an ambitious change in her musical style, but what can surely be said is that it works well- really well.  Looking back a year, I imagine it would be difficult to book a free St. Vincent concert like that again for some time.  My guess is that if I want to see her preform again, I’ll have to pay for the ticket, but that’s not such a bad thing at all.        - 8/10 

Strange Mercy was released on September 13, 2011 by 4AD Records


     Top Tracks:                                                 What They Say:
Chloe in the Afternoon                                Rolling Stone- 4½ out of 5
Cruel                                                            Pitchfork- 9 out of 10
Strange Mercy                                             Spin- 9 out of 10
Year of the Tiger