Annie Clark’s weapon is her intent. Her grace is a swift punch packed with pointed articulation, and for this she has found the appropriate musical expression (aided by an assortment of gadgets at her feet, including an expressive kick drum, and the coupling of a regular microphone with a distorted one). Her angry, unrestrained outbursts on the electric guitar show off her control over the instrument, but her playing can hardly be classified as flamboyant or subtle. Instead, the power comes from the emotion she keeps sharpened, which results in clarity without being overbearing. Her singing takes on the same quality- it is the intention that provides shape to her voice that otherwise escapes easy categorization, and it’s this skill of Annie’s that makes her shows powerful, with or without a full band.
This week was filled with quality new songs, but the one I played the most is an older one, though newly acquired. As previously mentioned, St. Vincent merch table was selling her EP Paris Is Burning for $5, and though the second track “What Me Worry” is a fine tune with jazzy singing, and the third, a cover of Nico’s “These Days”, is just as excellent, the title track is alone worth 5 bucks. Written by Annie, it is by itself evidence of her exciting talent. It gives me goosebumps.
“Paris Is Burning” begins with foreboding French horns that would go nicely with a murder scene in a black and white movie. And the kind of tension that would go along with such a scene is sustained throughout the song. Picking words from the lyrics itself, especially in the light of the waltz rhythm introduced in the second half, “Paris Is Burning” is somewhat of a “black waltz.” The lyrics are simple enough, but poignant and well-arranged, and Annie’s got a way of adding eeriness when she sings them. The first few words, sung slowly over acoustic guitar:
I write to give word the war is over
Send my cinders home to mother
They gave me a medal for my valor
Leaden [?] trumpet spit
The soot [?] of power
After watching two shows with what I think was the exact setlist, I can conclude that I’m quite fond of the live version of “Your Lips Are Red,” perhaps because there are parts where Annie breathes furiously into the distorted mic and kicks the kick pad, this repeated a few times in the said order. She was a little sillier last night, sneaking in “We’re all going to hell” after singing the line “We can do what Joseph and Mary did, without the kid.” It struck me, in any case, how much eerier it is to hear her sing this line live: “You don’t mean that, say you’re sorry.”
There has rarely been so much elegance in a girl in bright red tights breezing her fingers through the guitar, stomping her foot on her kick pad, singing about murder and whimsical, indecisive fancies about marrying John. Talking about a sweet boy who came up to her after a show, asking if the song was about killing her actual baby. Saying yes with a straight face. Humming at a distance from the mic, sounding gorgeous all the time, shaking her guitar, switching between mics, one clean one dirty, and making us understand immediately why these switches are fantastically crucial. Annie Clark, who goes by the name St. Vincent, played an outstanding one-woman show at Mercury Lounge. Don’t miss her at Union Hall. Link to full show review will be posted later.
hooves on the turf is a mostly-music blog based out of brooklyn. i can be reached at hoovesontheturf [at] gmail [dot] com - please send me your lovely music as an attached mp3 or an mp3 link. if i like what you send, i'll be sure to ask for more.
Paris Is Burning EP
