Strange Mercy | ||||
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Studio album by St. Vincent | ||||
Released | September 12, 2011 | |||
Genre | Art rock, baroque pop | |||
Length | 41:16 | |||
Label | 4AD | |||
Producer | Annie Clark, John Congleton | |||
St. Vincent chronology | ||||
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Strange Mercy is the third studio album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on September 12, 2011, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The album's cover art was designed by St. Vincent, and was photographed by Tina Tyrell.[1] The album peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200, making it St. Vincent's highest charting album yet.[2] In addition, Strange Mercy received mostly positive reviews from critics.[3]
Contents |
Strange Mercy was written in Seattle while Annie Clark spent time in isolation there, an experience Clark described as a "loneliness experiment" and "a cleanse."[4][5] The reason she spent time in isolation was to escape from the information overload she was experiencing with New York and modern technology.[6] Clark arrived in Seattle on October 2010 and stayed at the Ace Hotel. She used a studio provided by Jason McGerr to record her materials.[7]
The album was first announced in a Twitter post on January 12, 2011.[8] 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.[9] The album was recorded at Elwood Studio in Dallas, Texas.[10]
In July 2011, Clark announced that a track from Strange Mercy would be unlocked when enough Twitter users tweeted the hashtag "#strangemercy."[11] During the campaign, teaser videos for the album, which Clark described as riffing on the idea of "strange mercy," were released.[5] On July 22, 2011, a track from the album, "Surgeon," was released as a free MP3 download following the Twitter campaign.[12] On August 25, 2011, a music video for the track "Cruel" was released.[13] The music video, which featured Clark being kidnapped by a motherless family, being forced to be a wife in the family and being buried alive, was filmed around San Francisco and on Mare Island.[14][15] On September 4, 2011, Strange Mercy was streamed in its entirety on NPR Music.[16]
Strange Mercy was described as being more personal than previous St. Vincent albums.[4][15] "Chloe In The Afternoon," the album's opener, is about Clark's anxieties over monogamy, while "Cheerleader" "has a decidedly feminine point of view."[5] The lyrics "Best, finest surgeon. Come cut me open" in the track "Surgeon" were taken from a line written in Marilyn Monroe's journal. Clark found that line to be "brilliant and really strange," saying "And I was - I put, you know, inspiration from my own life for various situational depression or what - call it what you will. And this line, best finest surgeon, really resonated with me." The album closer "Year of the Tiger" was written about the depression Clark experienced in 2010, the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese calender.[15] Clark did not elaborate on what caused her depression.[7]
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [17] |
The A.V. Club | (A-)[18] |
BBC Music | (mixed)[19] |
Consequence of Sound | [20] |
The Guardian | [21] |
The Observer | [22] |
Pitchfork Media | (9.0/10)[23] |
Popmatters | (9/10)[24] |
Q | [25] |
Spin | (9/10)[26] |
Slant Magazine | [27] |
Strange Mercy has received critical acclaim. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 86 out of 100, indicating "Universal Acclaim."[3]
Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal gave the album a Best New Music designation, writing "Here, Clark's role-playing is grounded in emotions that are as cryptic as they are genuine and affecting. And when her voice can't bear it, her guitar does the screaming."[23] Drowned In Sound's Sean Adams also gave the album a positive review, writing, "Don’t be fooled by them saucer-like bambi eyes[...] or her tip-top indie-rock-positioning system[...] because this is an album that rockets toward you, ricochets through your emotions and finally decides to lay you down on the floor, headphones on, tumbling around like a blissed-out cat in the sun."[28] Spin's Stacey Anderson called Strange Mercy St. Vincent's "most mercurial [album] yet", continuing: "Clark's complex femininity, both self-possessed and keenly evolving, is what makes her music so powerful and fascinating."[26] Q magazine also gave the album a positive review, writing: "Combining elegance and menace expertly, Clark's vocals drift languidly amid swimmy guitars, siren-like choirs and strings, while lyrical undercurrents of anger, hysteria and black humour tug beneath the surface."[25] Arnold Pan of Popmatters praised the album for balancing experimentation and accessibility, writing "It’s as if Strange Mercy is making the case that high art can have a popular dimension—and the reverse, too, that pop culture can be high-minded and artful. Like peers such as Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors, Clark creates challenging music that doesn’t go over your head even though you realize there’s more going on with it than you can wrap your mind around."[24]
In a more mixed review, BBC Music's Wyndham Wallace called Strange Mercy "a little underwhelming," writing that there was a lack of standout tracks. Wallace continued: "[...] ultimately Strange Mercy sounds like her best record still lies ahead, once she feels a little more at ease with balancing her obviously multiple talents."[19]
Strange Mercy has appeared on a few end-of-year lists. Paste ranked the album #11 on its list of the best 50 albums of 2011.[29] The same website also called the track "Cruel" the 13th best song of 2011, writing "The simple lyrics about how hurtful and painful the pressure of looks can have on a person are accompanied by a Talking Heads-like progression. It is difficult to be upset when this song gets stuck in your head."[30] Q ranked the album #8 on its list of the top 50 albums of 2011, while NME ranked the album #7 on its end-of-year list.[31][32] Uncut placed Strange Mercy at number 43.[33] Pitchfork Media ranked the album #11 on its list of the Top 50 Albums of 2011, with Stephen Deusner writing: "Strange Mercy is always on its toes, always toying with some new idea, always building toward the oddly satisfying payoff. The song might be a narrative or an uncomfortable explication of the life of an indie rock artist, and the ambiguity, not to mention the ambivalence, stings. By totally embracing that off-kilter danger, Clark opened up a raw and brave new vocabulary."[34]
All songs written and composed by Annie Clark, except track 11 (written by Annie Clark and Sharon Clark)[35].
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Chloe in the Afternoon" | 2:55 |
2. | "Cruel" | 3:35 |
3. | "Cheerleader" | 3:28 |
4. | "Surgeon" | 4:25 |
5. | "Northern Lights" | 3:33 |
6. | "Strange Mercy" | 4:28 |
7. | "Neutered Fruit" | 4:13 |
8. | "Champagne Year" | 3:28 |
9. | "Dilettante" | 4:03 |
10. | "Hysterical Strength" | 3:16 |
11. | "Year of the Tiger" | 3:28 |
The following people contributed to Strange Mercy:[35]
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
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Canadian Albums Chart[36] | 63 |
UK Independent Albums[37] | 19 |
US Billboard 200[2] | 19 |
US Independent Albums[2] | 6 |
Belgium Heatseekers (Flanders)[38] | 6 |
Belgium Heatseekers (Wallonia)[39] | 10 |