Now that she’s done doing (pretty amazing) Big Black covers, St. Vincent’s Annie Clark can get back to business. That business is show business, kid. To stay in the biz, you’ve got to release new albums and Miss Clark, hey, she’s got it down pat. What I mean is that on September 13, St. Vincent will be putting out her third record Strange Mercy through 4AD. One would imagine that you, my friend, already know that it’s the follow-up to 2009’s super-acclaimed Actor (TMT Review), but, heck, if you don’t, it is the follow-up to 2009’s Actor (TMT Review).
On Strange Mercy, Clark joined forces once again with Actor producer John Congleton, who you may know from producing all your favorite records, and laid down many a track at Dallas’s Elmwood Studios. Such tracks include the horn-section-boasting “Cruel” and the fuzzy-guitar-loaded “Cheerleader,” but not a single Big Black cover. Ugh! Couldn’t she even squeeze in a rendition of Shellac’s “Prayer for God?”
Evidently, all that time not recording Steve Albini covers has been put to hiring some extra hands for Strange Mercy. Fair enough. Among the players brought in for added flair are Grammy-winning jazz musician Bobby Sparks (playing mini Moog, clavinet, ARP, and Wurlitzer), Midlake drummer Mackenzie Smith, violinist Daniel Hart, Beck keyboardist Brian LeBarton, and woodwind player Evan Smith. Rumor has it that none of these people will actually be audible on the record, due to the overwhelming sound of Annie Clark’s ferocious guitar playing. I wouldn’t take that rumor too seriously, though.
• St. Vincent: http://www.ilovestvincent.com
• 4AD: http://www.4ad.com