Blog darling and Sufjan Stevens/Polyphonic Spree alum Annie Clark released her debut album under the St. Vincent moniker, Marry Me, a week ago. An exemplary work of alt-pop, um, singer-songwritersmanship, it can sit comfortably alongside—or above—recent releases by Andrew Bird, Rufus Wainwright, and My Brightest Diamond. Most of the press I’ve been reading on Marry Me seems to stress a between-the-wars French cabaret feeling. While the sound is there, and its presence far from disagreeable, it certainly doesn’t overwhelm the album or any one song in particular, and you could easily point to a dozen other musical points of reference. Any attempts to peg down the album’s sound inevitably discount the breadth of Clark’s songwriting interests. Or perhaps my life is so much like a French cabaret that I no longer notice these things.
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mp3 | St. Vincent – Land Mines
The first time I heard “Land Mines,” the song it most reminded me of was “Pilots” from Felt Mountain. It has that same, lush, patient quality. Here, Clark seems to be granting her emotions a sort of indifferent otherness. Sometimes our desires get away from us, and a heart in love, especially one’s own, becomes dangerous. One misplaced step and… KA-BOOM.
Marry Me is available now.
- Official Site | MySpace | Love Letters
- Buy Marry Me: Amazon | Insound