Some of her best songs are here, but also a couple of really boring ones that I’d probably skip every time. Great album overall.
Art-pop is really a hit-or-miss genre for me, the music is on this album is very cool but it kind of just went in one ear and out the other. I will try and listen to more stuff like this and maybe even more st vincent projects hoping I would enjoy that more
8.1 - Great
Well at this point, St. Vincent is easily one of the most consistent artists in the game.
Strange Mercy, the 3rd album by the artist, is continuing proof that she is one of the more consistent artists of the 2010s. However, I feel that the appeal of all of her albums is based on what the listener likes the most. For me, Daddy’s Home is my personal favorite, with its excellent songwriting and psychedelic 70s style, with her self titled being a close runner up, with its jumpy, ... read more
St. Vincent Deep Dive #3: The Third Way
Annie Clark really knows how to be versatile. All the albums from her that I’ve listened to so far have sounded pretty different, and if this is how it’s gonna keep going, I’m all for it.
Favorite: Cruel
Least Favorite: Dilettante
how in the actual hell do you make music like this? like how creative and crazy do you have to be to come up with these ideas and make them WORK!?!? yeah its a bit of a mess, but it's a mess with a purpose and a message. A controlled chaos.
When the milk talks back
More St Vincent!! She is killing it with consistency, hasn’t had a dull album at all. This seems to be her most widely loved album for the most part and interestingly enough, it’s my least favorite up until this point. Now don’t let that detract from anything because this is still a really solid album. Every St Vincent project has stylistically switched up, even if it’s subtle or if it’s more noticeable. The weird thing is that I ... read more
"Strange Mercy" presents stories that explore peculiar forms of compassion and the pain that can be associated with kindness. The theme starts boldly with "Chloe In The Afternoon" being about BDSM and prostitution as people visit Chloe in the afternoon for their appointments. St. Vincent's virtuosically rough guitar depicts the pain of the situation, as it clashes with the floaty high-pitched synths which resemble the anxious euphoria of intimacy. It was influenced by the ... read more
Where St. Vincent's debut record Marry Me was about establishing a vast array of creative concepts, and the sophomore release Actor saw Clark honing in on a more consistent albeit whimsical tone, the third album Strange Mercy is all about tightening the grips and exploring the spectrum of progression, pop, and grit. Similar to Actor, Strange Mercy has an evident thread that ties all these songs together even if clearly cut from a separate cloth, one of which continues to establish the artistic ... read more
Three moments on this album that make me wet myself:
1. The first lyrics of 'Surgeon,' where she almost exhales the words.
2. The last two minutes of 'Neutered Fruit,' where the crunch dial is turned to 11.
3. That moment at the beginning of 'Champagne Year' when you are convinced that it is a cover of 'Hallelujah' but IT ISN'T.
10/10 wetness levels.
Her finest album to date (but I am convinced she can release something even more incredible!!!!)
It's been awhile since I last sat and truly soaked in this album; and I've listened to a lot of albums since, and really learned a great deal... and after so much time Strange Mercy has emerged so much more vivid and so much more alive than I had remembered.
Modern Classics #4 - Strange Mercy
Thank you so much for 50 followers in just one month! I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews. I'm enjoying hanging around here again! Now, it's time for another instalment of Modern Classics.
In this series, I take a brief, personal look at relatively recent (2005+) albums and songs that have stayed with me since my first listen, and that I consider to be modern Classics. Rather than straight up reviewing the music on the records, I'd rather look at how said ... read more
In a way this album is another helping of her previous record, "Actor", however on here I feel like the psychedelic edge is being pushed even further and in more ambitious directions, going so far to the point of being a mind-altering piece of art in my opinion
It is a bit hard to get into at first, since the instrumental character might not be all that precise or punchy on a first listen, and a lot of the songs here have roughly the same goals, but Vincent goes about them in ... read more
Strange Mercy is yet another slam dunk for Annie Clark, an entertainingly chaotic batch of tunes from one of the most forward-thinking indie artists of our time.
Working upon the ground built by the edgier sounds of her previous release, Strange Mercy continues on Annie's trajectory toward noise pop in a magnificent manner; some of her most delectable production yet, Strange Mercy is yet another slam dunk for Annie.
While touching upon some of Annie's other aesthetics, like the ... read more
Almost a year ago now, I did my deep dive into the discography of Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, in preparation for the release of her new album, Daddy's Home, and to my surprise I found her discography incredibly unique and consistent, with no one album sounding like another and yet all managing to impress me through her knack for pop hooks with avant-garde experimentation in the production. Strange Mercy is perhaps her most experimental release in her catalogue, yet that doesn't mean it's ... read more
The fact that she isolated herself to make this piece of human analysis around mercy and how it can be perceived is amazing by itself and the final product is basically a great guitar and lyrics work.
the incomparable annie clark creates atmospheres full of wonderful chaos and ploy hooks. there’s also fully orchestrated distortion.
I willingly punctured my eardrums listening to this. It was 87% worth it.
Best tracks: Cruel, Cheerleader, Surgeon, Northern Lights, Neutered Fruit, Year of the Tiger
As close to perfection as you can come in the moment. Beautiful songs of carelessness and whimsical stories dart back and forth in between beautiful distortion and unique and challenging guitar riffs. Annie Clark made a pop rock album you could smoke a joint to and have your parents listen to that loved that 60's scuzz.
Strange Mercy is one of St VIncent's most unique albums for sure. Her take on the indie art-pop sound is very eccentric and executed in a way that is unique to her style. The artistry on this album is amazing and she continues to prove she is one of the most provocative musicians and guitarists out there. Though I believe she has potential to top this album.
This is one of those albums that I have been meaning to listen to for many months, but it has always just been on the backburner. Now that I have finally gotten around to listening to it, I'm pretty impressed. St. Vincent crafted an exquisitely enjoyable album of indie rock and art pop. To be frank, nothing truly blows me away all too much more than other albums similar to this (despite it still being a really cool album). Strange Mercy is great, however it doesn't do enough to ... read more
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