Perhaps the most unnerving quality to be found in the music on this record is the way in which its eerie arias float as comfortably above the earthy rhythms as a UFO above a vivid memory of your childhood home. Annie delivers alien material from her now familiar human form through which she manipulates us with her natural and artistic beauty. We being hardly the only thing manipulated, her clinical approach to the textures on Strange Mercy shows Clark's meticulous control and integration of all elements of her music as a defining characteristic of her recorded output up to now. While she tightens up the rhythmic/chordal palette and restricts herself to 3 or so guitar tones, Annie continues to cultivate and communicate her expressionist pop tendencies, isolating into
lead gestures that move in parallel to the songs' pulses. Take, for instance, the "Bodies..." motif of lead single Cruel; the near operatic, soaring melody disjointedly floats atop an updated disco beat and is continually interrupted by the song's hooky verse and choruses. In much the same way St. Vincent super-imposes her geometric mannerist melodies with fuzz guitar onto her deeply magnetic moods. Bearing its weak links (Cheerleader, Hysterical Strength) the album overall shows an interplay between Annie's guitar and the rest of the instruments that would seem to reflect her still rapidly developing ability to write for unique ensembles. A fun trip.
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