St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

Strange Mercy is the third studio album by American musician St. Vincent, also known as Annie Clark. It was released on September 13, 2011 by 4AD, a British independent record label. The album features 11 tracks of art pop, baroque pop, progressive pop and experimental music, with influences from jazz, rock and electronic genres. Clark wrote the songs in Seattle, where she isolated herself for a month to escape from the distractions of New York and technology. She collaborated with producer John Congleton, who also worked on her previous album Actor, and recorded the album in Dallas and New York. The album’s cover art was designed by Clark herself, and was photographed by Tina Tyrell.

Strange Mercy received critical acclaim from music critics, who praised Clark’s vocals, lyrics, guitar work and musical diversity. The album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it St. Vincent’s highest-charting album at the time. It also reached the top 10 of several other charts, including the UK Indie Albums Chart and the US Top Alternative Albums chart. The album spawned three singles: “Surgeon”, “Cruel” and “Cheerleader”, which were accompanied by music videos directed by Terri Timely. In 2012, St. Vincent released a live EP titled 4AD Session, which featured six songs from Strange Mercy performed at Shangri-La Studio in New York. In 2014, Pitchfork named Strange Mercy the 23rd best album of the decade so far.