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Behind the Buzz: St. Vincent
St. Vincent at the church could be the hottest ticket at South By Southwest this year.
“I did everything backwards on this record,” Clark said in a recent phone interview from her home in Brooklyn, with a fuzzy connection that made it hard to make out every fourth word. “I started with very complicated arrangements. Before I wrote any lyrics, I would watch some of my favorite films and write soundtracks for some of the scenes.” She wrote clarinet lines on the guitar and used the computer to come up with other parts. “Then I would write melodies and try to make each song as economical as possible.” The 26-year-old Clark has said her intention was to create “technicolor animatronic rides.” Produced in Dallas by John Congleton (Modest Mouse), the result is a huge sound that doesn’t forsake the core.
“I think the main difference between this album and the first (2007’s acclaimed “Marry Me”) is that these songs are all connected to each other,” she said.
Born in Tulsa, Okla., Clark grew up in Dallas, the middle of nine children. Asked if growing up in such a big family, where everything’s always going on at once, had an effect on her active arrangements, Clark simply said, “Hmmm.” She’s careful not to give away too much, including specific inspiration for her songs.
“I didn’t start writing this record until March of 2008 and all these songs are very much a part of that time,” said the former Polyphonic Spree guitarist, who received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music right out of Lake Highlands High to study guitar.
It should be noted that Clark can absolutely shred on the guitar. That sets her apart from the other singer-songwriters whose melodies can be called coy. “I’ve never owned an acoustic guitar,” she said. She got her first electric in 1994 when she was 12 and has been married to it ever since. There’s power in the beauty and beauty in the power of “Actor,” which should be on many “best of” lists at the end of the year.
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