St. Vincent: Ex-Polyphonic Spree Gal Takes Gastown on Monday Night

Posted by Connie
Filed in Music
July 27, 2007

Yeah, yeah. So I didn't go see Arcade Fire in May: let the scenester gods blast me now. Even though they're a live band that actually lives up to the hype, I couldn't be arsed to pull myself all the way out to Deer Lake Park for the pleasure. At the time I was also intrigued by opening act St. Vincent, but I'd only heard her pre-release "Now. Now." and really didn't think that was worth making the trek to Burnaby either. (Getting on the Skytrain really kills the mojo.) Anyway, it turns out I missed something special; not only was Arcade Fire predictably fabulous, but St. Vincent (a.k.a. Ex-Polyphonic Spree's Annie Clark) actually won the hearts of the crowd, including that of a discerning friend who vowed he'd go see her headlining show in a heartbeat.

Well, whaddyaknow, she's back now with her own gig this Monday, July 30th, at the Lamplighter (210 Abbott Street). And now that her debut album Marry Me is finally out, I have the opportunity to go beyond "Now. Now." and see if she's actually worth the buzz.

And, well, methinks she is. Marry Me's definitely a strong album, bringing out a female Andrew Bird meets Kate Bush meets Nico, all frolicking in an open-theatre musical. The whole album is a play in itself, offering a dramatic ride and a heck of a lot of texture and depth for a debut offering. It's fine avant-garde orchestral pop, with some songs evoking a mix of summer jazz and '70s balladry, offering something truly sweet and innovative in this landscape of musical blahness. She'll no doubt be riveting to watch, especially in a venue as small as the Lamplighter.

This time, I don't have the Burnaby excuse.

Who: St. Vincent & Death Vessel
When: Monday, July 30th, doors @ 8pm
Where: The Lamplighter (210 Abbott Street | 604 681 6666
Advanced tickets: $12 + service charge @ Zulu Records & Ticketmaster.

Reader Reviews and Comments

Submit a Review or Comment

pfork gave her an 8.0
(http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/44358-marry-me)

Posted by: shawnkemp at July 27, 2007 8:04 AM | Quote Comment

Well, you made one relevant point here. The landscape of musical blahness.

I don't get the whole choral group as band thing, and I find most of the acts that people rave about these days to lack a certain edge. What is this, the seventies again?

Joanna Newsom, Devandra Banhart, Antony (except for his work with Bjork) just don't reflect the zeitgeist in anyway, unless the zeitgeist is burying your head in the sand.

Annie sounds alright, and the compositions are pretty cool, but she's not that exciting.

That 90's revival is starting to look pretty good.

Posted by: android at July 27, 2007 10:09 AM | Quote Comment

you're right with the '70s punch: it's just like fashion. cyclical. early-mid '90s music is my comfort blanket.

and i have a feeling the choral band thing is so attractive because it's easier to disguise bad singing? ha ha. don't know. just don't know.

i know, it's hard to be groundbreaking anymore, but has anyone discovered anything worth a listen, even if it's not groundbreaking? i lust for new music.

Posted by: connie at July 27, 2007 1:36 PM | Quote Comment

It's true, the 1990's spawned a few new genres, and that can probably be attributed to the looming millenium and the drugs of that decade. We got grunge, electronica (in all it's permutations:techno, trance, idm, big beat, drum n' bass etc.) trip hop, and the hybrids like radiohead's Kid A/Amnesiac and whatever label we can pin on Sigur Ros and Mum.

It seems that everyone was ready for some songwriting after that raucous decade, thus the rise of the new crop of pitchfork darlings. I'm sure 9/11 had something to do with it, but I'll save that for some other time.

Then there's the whole 80's post-punk inspired lot that has turned a whole new generation onto the sounds of that movement, and in some ways it has been made fresh. I'm partial to bands like Bloc Party and Interpol, simply because I love that style of music.

I can only judge something by how it makes me feel, and some of the things that I've been impressed by are:

Bloc Party - A Weekend In the City (critics are slamming this a bit, but what the hell do they expect from someone who's only 25?)

The Killer's - Sam's Town
(I kept listening to this, and it never started annoying me at all)

Lily Allen - Alright Still
(sure, she sounds like a chav, but her songs are so cool and fun!)

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
(I like this much better than the first album. Quite contemporary sounding.)

Battles - Mirrored
(might even be innovative)

Posted by: android at July 30, 2007 9:37 AM | Quote Comment

prenaris exorcism dumfounderment monitorial bradycauma rhineurynter declined mudra
http://www.rootsweb.com/~onstormo/ >Stormont County GenWeb
http://www.x-tremegarage.com

Posted by: Jasper Nielsen at November 22, 2007 12:52 AM | Quote Comment