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Avg: 4.0 (135 ratings)
- Date Released: May 5, 2009
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: 4AD
One of the most exotic, eerie and evocative releases of the year
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We Say...
Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) made an auspicious debut with 2007's Marry Me, the title of which (inspired by a running joke on Arrested Development) drew puppyish affirmatives from fans of this unconventional experimentalist with the photogenic gamine looks. If that record hinted at a taste for sonic invention beyond the palate of most singer-songwriters, her second album is a full-blossoming. Challenging, startling and, at times, plain awkward, Actor at first intrigues then gradually captivates. It's both brave and beautiful.
The Texas-raised, Brooklyn-based Clark, a figure in the local Sufjan Stevens/the National scene and onetime member of the Polyphonic Spree, has requisitioned worthy guest musicians. Woodwind is supplied by Alex Sopp (Philip Glass, Björk) and Hideaki Amori (Sufjan Stevens), while McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake bring ballast as the rhythm section. There are French horns, violins, multiple percussionists. She co-produces with John Congleton (Polyphonic Spree, Modest Mouse). Yet for all the acquired kudos and busy arrangements, what stands out primarily is St. Vincent's own personality. The voice may be soft and reticent, yet the identity — comprised of lyrics, attitude, a willfully perverse jumbling of ideas and compositional tropes — is confident and compelling.
Clark claims her muses for Actor were films ranging from Disney to Godard, and you can discern the influence of The Wizard of Oz (a favourite of hers) in the sweet/sinister interplay here. Throughout the journey, you can sense both the cold radicalism of Bowie‘s Heroes and the warmer pioneer moves of Kate Bush circa The Dreaming. "The Strangers" opens like a cinematic elegy, before a wave of distorted glitching lets us know that this questing Dorothy‘s yellow brick road will not be without its flying monkeys. The rumbling gravitas of the National and the hyperactivity of Animal Collective inform the outstanding "Actor Out Of Work," which is simultaneously pining and aggressive. "Marrow" comes off like a restless mix of Morricone and the MC5.
Clark enters a more mellow, restrained mood for the closing section, which are voice and piano led, but don't be fooled: like Bat For Lashes (or Lisa Germano), even her cuter melodies bear barbs. The angelic choir of "The Party" is contrasted by military-style drums. Nothing is ever one-dimensional.
Like the films she loves, St. Vincent's multi-layered music rewards repeat visits. Actor may be one of the most exotic, eerie and evocative releases of the year. -
They Say...
St. Vincent's Annie Clark is a unique talent; she's as much a musician as she is a songwriter, and both her sounds and her words are delicately uncompromising. She blends rock, jazz, electronic, and classical touches together so seamlessly that it doesn't seem remarkable, and as lovely as her voice and music can be, she's too strange and too smart to be merely winsome. Marry Me was as bold as its title proposal suggested, uniting her sardonic, whip-smart viewpoint and jaunty music into songs with beacon-like clarity. Things are murkier, but no less fascinating, on Actor, Marry Me's darker and more ambitious follow-up. Musically and lyrically, the album often feels like a duel (and occasionally, a duet) between Clark's collected, literate side and her raging emotions. This is especially striking on Actor's arrangements and instrumentation, which are even more expressive than they were on Marry Me. "The Strangers" opens the album with choral vocals, woodwinds, and typically charming/unsettling lyrics: "Desperate doesn't look good on you/Neither does your virtue." But before things get too dainty, massively distorted guitar and drums let out the fury that's been brewing in the song the entire time (later, "The Bed" offers an even sharper contrast between innocence and violence). "Marrow" is just as startling, switching from pretty to abrasive and back again with a swiftness that's surprising, even knowing how fond Clark is of turning her songs on their sides. She also loves couching uncomfortable moments in sweet sounds and vice versa, so it's no surprise that Actor's poppiest songs are its most disturbing. On the album's single, the forceful rocker "Actor Out of Work," she pulls in and levels a lover in just over two minutes, beginning with alluring "oohs" and then twisting the knife with putdowns like "You're the curses through my teeth" -- the song's brisk dance between hot and cold is dazzling. Likewise, "Laughing with a Mouth of Blood" pairs the album's most gruesome song title with one of its most honeyed melodies. As brilliantly as Clark uses these contrasts, at times they threaten to overpower Actor's songs, and the slightly more straightforward, Marry Me-like tracks such as "Save Me from What I Want" and "The Party" help balance the album with some breathing space. Similarly, while the album's elaborately layered sounds are engrossing, they tend to overshadow Clark's equally thoughtful lyrics at first -- although when she sings "Tomorrow's some kind of stranger who I'm not supposed to see" on "The Neighbors," it's with more palpable emotion than anything she sang on Marry Me. "The Sequel" ends Actor on a fittingly uneasy, open-ended note, given all the complexities that came before it. This is some of St. Vincent's most complicated music, but its fearless creativity rewards repeated listening, as Clark has few rivals when it comes to seducing ears and challenging minds at the same time.
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| 01. |  |
The Strangers |
4:05 |
|
| 02. | |
Save Me From What I Want |
3:35 |
|
| 03. | |
The Neighbors |
3:31 |
|
| 04. | |
Actor Out Of Work |
2:15 |
|
| 05. | |
Black Rainbow |
4:11 |
|
| 06. | |
Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood |
3:02 |
|
| 07. | |
Marrow |
3:24 |
|
| 08. | |
Oh My God |
4:29 |
|
| 09. | |
The Bed |
3:43 |
|
| 10. | |
The Party |
4:05 |
|
| 11. | |
Just The Same But Brand New |
5:24 |
|
| 12. | |
The Sequel |
1:54 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 43:38 Total Length
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Credits
- Greg Calbi - Mastering // William Flynn - Bass // John Congleton - Producer // John Congleton - Engineer // John Congleton - Mixing // Michael Atkinson - French Horn // Michael Atkinson - Score Consultant // Scott Solter - Engineer // Scott Solter - Engineer // Daniel Hart - Violin // Matthias Bossi - Drums // Alex Sopp - Flute // Aynsley Powell - Drums // Hideaki Aomori - Clarinet // Hideaki Aomori - Flute // Hideaki Aomori - Clarinet (Bass) // Hideaki Aomori - Sax (Alto) // Hideaki Aomori - Sax (Soprano) // Hideaki Aomori - Sax (Tenor)
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