Record Review: St. Vincent

Annie Clark’s debut album, Marry Me, might not be quite as strange as her alias, St.Vincent.
Then again, this doesn’t say much.
Clark has a pleasing and unique voice, and her songs are so different from one another that boredom should not be a worry. “Human Racing” has a mysterious French sounding flow and “What Me Worry?” is equally seductive, but with a jazzy swing. However, upon hearing Marry Me for the first time, most listeners will probably not focus on these aspects of the music but will likely ask, “What drugs is this woman on?” St. Vincent’s song “Jesus Saves, I Spend” is presumably about Christmas, but it certainly does not emit a jolly aura, with creepy and repetitive “Bum bum bum bum bums” in the background that might bring to mind Santa’s toys coming alive to attack the sleeping children who await them. “Paris Is Burning” is equally ominous and difficult to decipher. Marry Me is a pretentiously weird album. Yet, somehow, it grows on you.