St Vincent - Strange Mercy

There is a song on Strange Mercy, ‘Surgeon’ if we’re being particular, that when it starts never fails to incite memories of Stingray [the TV show rather than the fish, I’m not weird]. But ‘Surgeon’ is alone in its slight hints towards the early 60s sound of ‘Aqua Marine’ [if you were a fan you’d know it] and the rest of the songs on this album rarely, if ever, take me to thoughts of submarines and mermaids.

Which on reflection is probably a good thing.

Strange Mercy, the follow up to 2009’s critically acclaimed Actor, is a strange, compelling blend of Annie Clark’s often-ethereal vocals with her incredible raucous, frequently fractious, guitar playing. The record on the whole is one comprised from these tensions, whether it is the contrasts between the beautiful angelic moments in songs and the streaks of fury that Clark can conjure with electricity and guitar or how lyrics can go from the shy and introverted, “do you stare at me like I stared at you?” to the more, er, inviting “you can undress me anyway” within the space of a song. Strange Mercy is not a CD it’s a coiled spring packed full of energy.

Speaking to NPR Clark said that last year, the Year of the Tiger, was a “turbulent” one, but it results in the best track on the album also called, yep you guessed it, ‘Year of the Tiger.” So good is it, that if you find a better closing track, in fact any song this year… well done, there’s no prizes here, but feel better wrapped in the knowledge that your task was an incredibly difficult one.

This is a great album. No more, no less and one of the best this year. Buy it and love it then go she St. Vincent as she plays throughout the country. I will be. See you there.

Daniel W. Raper

Twitter: @danielwraper