MOG Editorial Review

After spending two albums blending expansive guitar rock with whimsical pop, singer-songwriter Annie Clark has largely nixed the latter and made the former bigger and better for Strange Mercy, her latest. From the get-go, songs like "Chloe in the Afternoon" dazzle with their intricate, psychedelic riffs, not to mention the unconventional percussion on songs like "Cheerleader." While her lyrics have always been unconventional, winding stories of everything from high school memories to surgery will forever strip Clark of the "precious" tag. What's more, though, is that even as she moves weirder territory, there's still an undeniable charm to St. Vincent's sound and voice, allowing her to gather a larger audience and challenging them to listen deeper.