STRANGE MERCY

Description

While "Actor" (2009), St Vincent's second album, established Annie Clark (the artist behind the stage name inspired by poet Dylan Thomas) as one of the most captivating female artists of the moment, *Strange Mercy* undoubtedly stands as her best album. Chimerical synthesizers and hysterical guitars, distorted and disorienting rhythms – these are the ingredients of Annie Clark, who was born almost thirty years ago in Chicago. One of the most beautiful albums of this autumn 2011 opens with the ambivalence of "Chloe in the Afternoon" (named in homage to Eric Rohmer), whose guitar contrasts wonderfully with Annie Clark's crystalline voice – which has never sounded more like Björk than on this track. The fascinating and bittersweet pop of "Cruel," an undeniable hit, instantly captivates the listener. "Cheerleader" may begin in the sweetest possible way, keeping its verses free from any noisy intrusion, but it quickly transforms into massive and (languidly) dragging rock. This off-kilter rock'n'roll takes on Velvet Underground-esque qualities on "Northern Lights," very quickly infused with Annie Clark's unique touch. "Surgeon" confirms the ambivalence of the strange universe in which this modern-day Alice in Wonderland seems to evolve, confronting her disappointing love stories and more or less unfulfilled desires with detached irony and a certain sense of extended metaphor. The acknowledged melancholy of "Champagne" is typical of the stories *Strange Mercy* tells: those of encounters, separations, remorse and regrets, enveloping dreams and brutal awakenings. A track like the admirable "Dilettante" (which Annie Clark is certainly not) demonstrates the album's arachnid charm, which, discreetly weaving its translucent web, can sometimes pounce on a passing prey and devour it. Eschewing any generic concessions, "Strange Mercy" indulges in explorations of pop, rock, and electronic music (perfectly measured here), and embraces its femininity with superb flair. A man could not have written this album, Annie Clark reminds us on each of her tracks, without being overtly feminist. On the contrary, she seizes all the contradictions of which she is capable, not without irony ("Hysterical Strength"), and colors her tracks with both passionately unreasonable and scrupulously harmonious tones.