#1. St. Vincent’s Strange Mercy

Annie Clark has been my favorite working musician for a while, taking the torch from Deerhoof after they settled into workmanlike, albeit enjoyable, style of approaching each album. But a musician who consistently puts out releases that feel like whole statements, with every detail accounted for and audited, is rare. I like my guitars wonky and my chord progressions cloudy. Noise is beautiful in the right context. Words are the last thing to sink in so I have no idea what she’s singing about except for the excerpt from Marilyn Monroe’s diary. The vowels, rhythms, and timbre are usually enough for me. What am I? A writer? Not quite. Use this list as evidence. St. Vincent’s finest album.

2:00 pm  •  31 December 2011  •  1 note