St. Vincent (musician)
Anne Erin "Annie" Clark , better known by
her stage name St. Vincent, is an American
musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
She began her music career as a member of
The Polyphonic Spree and was also part of
Sufjan Stevens' touring band before forming
her own band in 2006.
Clark currently resides in Manhattan.
Her debut album was Marry Me (2007), and was
followed by Actor (2009).
Her third album, Strange Mercy, was released
on September 13, 2011.
On September 10, 2012, she released a collaborative
album with David Byrne titled Love This Giant.
Her fourth, self-titled album, St. Vincent,
was released in the US on February 25, 2014.
Clark has opened shows for such acts as Arcade
Fire, Andrew Bird, Jolie Holland, John Vanderslice,
Xiu Xiu, Death Cab for Cutie, Cristina Donà
and Grizzly Bear.
She worked with Bon Iver on the song "Roslyn",
which appeared on the film soundtrack of The
Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Her track "The Strangers" was sampled by Kid
Cudi on the song "MANIAC" for his album Man
on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager along
with rapper Cage.
Early life
Annie Clark was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
She began playing the guitar at the age of
12 and, as a teenager, worked as the tour
manager for her uncle and aunt, Tuck Andress
and Patti Cathcart, of the guitar-vocal jazz
duo Tuck & Patti.
She grew up in Dallas, Texas, and attended
Lake Highlands High School, where she participated
in theater and the school's jazz band, and
was a classmate of Mark Salling (who later
went on to star in the series Glee).
Clark graduated from Lake Highlands in 2001.
Clark attended the Berklee College of Music
for three years before dropping out.
In retrospect, Clark said, "I think that with
music school and art school, or school in
any form, there has to be some system of grading
and measurement.
The things they can teach you are quantifiable.
While all that is good and has its place,
at some point you have to learn all you can
and then forget everything that you learned
in order to actually start making music."
In 2003, during her time at Berklee, she released
an EP with fellow students entitled Ratsliveonnoevilstar.
While in Berklee, she worked with Heavy Rotation
Records where "she revealed a much more private
and intimate rendering of 'Count' for Dorm
Sessions Vol. 1."
Shortly after leaving Berklee, Clark returned
home to Texas where she joined The Polyphonic
Spree just before their embarking on a European
tour.
In 2004 she joined Glenn Branca's 100 guitar
orchestra for the Queens performance.
Clark left The Polyphonic Spree and joined
Sufjan Stevens' touring band in 2006, bringing
with her a tour EP entitled Paris is Burning.
It contains three tracks, including a cover
version of Jackson Browne's "These Days".
Career
St. Vincent and Marry Me (2007)
In 2006, Clark began recording a studio album,
under the stage name St. Vincent.
Her stage name is a reference to Saint Vincent's
Catholic Medical Center where the Welsh poet
Dylan Thomas died in 1953.
“It’s the place where poetry comes to
die,” she has said.
“That’s me.”
The name is also a reference to her great-grandmother,
whose middle name was St. Vincent.
In an interview on The Colbert Report, she
said that she "took moniker from a Nick Cave
song, which references the hospital where
Dylan Thomas died."
The reference is to the line "And Dylan Thomas
died drunk in / St. Vincent's hospital" from
Cave's song "There She Goes my Beautiful World"
off the album Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus.
Clark released her debut album, Marry Me on
July 10, 2007 on Beggars Banquet Records.
Named after a line from the television show
Arrested Development, the album features appearances
from drummer Brian Teasley (Man or Astro-man?,
The Polyphonic Spree), Mike Garson (David
Bowie's longtime pianist), and horn player
Louis Schwadron (The Polyphonic Spree).
The album was well received by critics, with
Clark being compared to the likes of Kate
Bush and David Bowie.
Clark was lauded for the album's musical arrangements
as well as themes and style; in their review
of the album, The AV Club noted: "There's
a point where too much happiness turns into
madness, and St. Vincent's multi-instrumentalist
Annie Clark knows this place well".
Pitchfork said "at every turn Marry Me takes
the more challenging route of twisting already
twisted structures and unusual instrumentation
to make them sound perfectly natural and,
most importantly, easy to listen to as she
overdubs her thrillingly sui generis vision
into vibrant life."
The songs featured on Marry Me were largely
written when Clark was eighteen and nineteen
years old, and, according to Clark, "represented
a more idealized version of what life was
or what love was or anything in the eyes of
someone who hadn't really experienced anything."
The album featured its one single, "Paris
Is Burning", as well as a music video for
"Jesus Saves, I Spend".
In 2008, Clark was nominated for three PLUG
Independent Music Awards: New Artist of the
Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Music
Video of the Year.
On March 6, 2008, she won the PLUG Female
Artist of the Year award.
Actor (2009)
In 2008, after returning to New York from
a lengthy tour, Clark began working on her
second album.
Her inspiration reportedly came from several
films, including Disney movies: "Well, the
truth is that I had come back from a pretty
long — you know, about a year-and-a-half
of touring, and so my brain was sort of all
circuit boards that were a little bit fried",
Clark said.
"So I started watching films as sort of a
way to get back into being human.
And then it started to just really inform
the entire record."
Clark, who did not have a studio at the time,
began writing the album in her apartment on
her computer using GarageBand and MIDI, because
she had been getting noise complaints from
neighbors.
The songs were largely inspired by scenes
from various children's films; Clark has stated
that she would imagine a soundtrack for certain
scenes from films when constructing the music
and lyrics, including scenes from Snow White
(1937) and The Wizard of Oz (1939).
The second album, entitled Actor, was released
by 4AD Records on May 5, 2009.
The album was also well received and gained
more commercial attention than its predecessor.
Spin gave the album eight out of ten stars,
noting its " the cruel and the kind, and here,
the baroque arrangements are even more complex
and her voice even prettier, with both only
underlining the dark currents running through
her songs".
Entertainment Weekly said the album "plays
up the contrasts, letting her church-choir
voice linger on lyrics that hint darkly at
themes of violence, sex, and general chaos",
and branded the album "a uniquely potent cocktail
of sounds and moods."
Actor charted well for an independent release,
peaking at #9 on Billboard's Independent Albums
Chart, and #5 on the Tastemaker Albums Chart.
It peaked at #90 on the Billboard 200.
Although the album spawned no singles (except
in the UK where "Actor Out Of Work" was issued
as a 7" vinyl single), music videos for "Marrow"
and "Actor Out of Work" were released, and
aired on several music channels.
A promotional music video for Laughing With
a Mouth of Blood, featuring Portlandia's Fred
Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (then of ThunderAnt),
was also filmed.
Strange Mercy (2011)
On January 12, 2011—according to her Twitter
account— Clark stated that she was working
on her third album, Strange Mercy, a follow
up to Actor.
In early March, producer John Congleton, who
also worked with Clark on Actor, commented
that he and Clark were nearly a third of the
way through recording the new release.
On July 4, Clark stated via Twitter that if
enough followers tweeted the hashtag "#strangemercy",
she would release a track from the album.
On July 22, after the threshold was met, she
released "Surgeon" for download and streaming
on her official website.
In August 2011, Clark was interviewed and
featured on the cover of SPIN magazine.
On August 24, 2011, a music video was released
for the song "Cruel", and on September 5,
the entire album was put up for streaming
on NPR Music.
On August 25, 2011, she debuted Strange Mercy
in the Temple of Dendur room at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City, New York,
introducing Toko Yasuda (ex-Enon), Matt Johnson,
and Daniel Mintseris to her live band.
The album was released on September 13, 2011.
Strange Mercy received widespread acclaim
from music critics.
The album achieved an overall rating of 8.1/10
at AnyDecentMusic? based on 36 reviews.
The album was St. Vincent's highest-charting
album yet, peaking at #19 on the US Billboard
200.
Regarding the album Annie Clark has stated
"I don't think it's the best record I'll ever
make, but I think it's a good record."
Clark began touring the US and Europe in support
of the record in the fall of 2011, and is
continuing a worldwide tour throughout 2012.
St. Vincent (2013–present)
On November 18, 2013, Clark announced dates
for a European tour in 2014 via her website.
The following day, Republic Records announced
that Clark had signed to their label.
Her fourth album, St. Vincent, was released
on February 25, 2014.
On December 9, 2013, Clark released the album's
first single, "Birth in Reverse", for digital
streaming.
The second single, "Digital Witness" was released
for digital streaming on January 6.
The album was released on February 25 to critical
acclaim.
Other work
In 2011, Clark composed "Proven Badlands"—an
instrumental piece based on "The Sequel",
from her sophomore release Actor—for ensemble
yMusic's album Beautiful Mechanical.
In 2012, Clark featured on Andrew Bird's album
Break It Yourself singing on "Lusitania".
On June 14, 2012, "Who", the first single
from her collaboration with David Byrne, formerly
of Talking Heads, was released.
The single comes from their album Love This
Giant, which was released on September 11,
2012.
On September 18, 2012, Clark participated
in the "30 Songs / 30 Days" campaign to support
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity
for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media
project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl
WuDunn’s best-selling book.
Clark also provided guest vocals for the song
"What's the Use of Won'drin'" on the album
Who Killed Amanda Palmer from Amanda Palmer,
formerly of The Dresden Dolls.
Clark appeared on the film soundtrack of The
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.
On May 28, 2013, David Byrne and St. Vincent
released Brass Tactics, which includes a previously
unreleased Love This Giant bonus track, two
remixes, and two live tracks.
St. Vincent was the 2013 recipient of the
Smithsonian magazine American Ingenuity Awards
in Performing Arts.
On April 10, 2014, Clark fronted Nirvana to
perform "Lithium" at the 29th Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Clark's vocals will be featured on Swans'
upcoming album To Be Kind, which will be released
on May 13, 2014.
Musical style
Clark's music has been noted for its wide
array of instruments and complex arrangements,
as well as its polysemous lyrics, which have
been described as teetering between "happiness
and madness".
In response to this, Clark has said, "I like
when things come out of nowhere and blindside
you a little bit.
I think any person who gets panic attacks
or has an anxiety disorder can understand
how things can all of a sudden turn very quickly.
I think I'm sublimating that into the music."
In addition to guitar, Clark also plays bass,
piano, organ and theremin.
Her music also often features violins, cellos,
flutes, trumpets, clarinets and other instruments.
Her unorthodox musical style has been characterized
by critics as a mixture of chamber rock, pop,
indie rock, and cabaret jazz.
As of late 2011, her electric guitar pedal
board included the following: Korg PitchBlack,
DBA Interstellar Overdriver Supreme, ZVex
Mastotron Fuzz, Eventide Pitchfactor, Eventide
Space, BOSS PS-5 Super Shifter, Moog EP-2
Expression Pedal.
All her pedals are controlled by a MasterMind
MIDI Foot Controller.
She frequently plays a 1967 Harmony H17 Bobkat
electric guitar.
Personal life
A 2014 Village Voice profile of Clark describes
her as a private person.
Former Talking Heads member David Byrne, with
whom Clark toured, says, "Despite having toured
with her for almost a year I don't think I
know her much better, at least not on a personal
level... mystery is not a bad thing for a
beautiful, talented young woman (or man) to
embrace.
And she does it without seeming to be standoffish
or distant."
Discography
Ratsliveonnoevilstar (2003)
Paris Is Burning (2006)
4AD Session (2012)
Brass Tactics (with David Byrne) (2013)
"Jesus Saves, I Spend" / "These Days" (2007) –
CD, 7" vinyl
"Now, Now" / "All My Stars Aligned" (2007) –
CD, 7" vinyl
"Actor Out of Work" / "Bicycle" (2009) –
7" vinyl
"Marrow" / "Oh My God" (2009) – Digital,
promo CD
"Surgeon" (2011) – Digital promo
"Cruel" (2011) – Digital promo
"Cheerleader" / "Cheerleader" (acoustic) (2012) –
iTunes single
"KROKODIL" / "GROT" (2012) – Red vinyl
7" for Record Store Day
"Who" (2012) – Digital (with David Byrne)
"Digital Witness" / "Birth In Reverse" (2014) –
Digital, gold triangle 12" vinyl
"Digital Witness" / "Del Rio" (2014) –
7" vinyl
"The Antidote" – The Twilight Saga: Breaking
Dawn – Part 2 soundtrack (2012)
"Early Autumn" – Gangster Squad: Music
From And Inspired By The Motion Picture (2013)
"Make Believe" – Boardwalk Empire Volume
2: Music from the HBO Original Series (2013)
