St. Vincent is the stage name of musician Annie Clark. She first gained popularity when she joined Sufan Stevens’ touring band almost four years ago. Since then she has made quite the name for herself, her sophomore album, Actor, was released in 2008 and she began her second headlining tour just a couple of weeks ago in Victoria, British Columbia.
The El Rey, located in mid-city, was appropriately chosen as St. Vincent’s only Los Angeles stop. The romantic décor and dim lighting were complimentary to the musician’s descriptive, ambient vocals. Wildbirds & Peacedrums, an experimental husband-and-wife duo hailing from Sweden were her opening act. The percussion-driven songs proved to be the perfect segue into St. Vincent’s ethereal, dream pop performance.
The musician, whose vocals proved to be both hypnotic and impressive on both of her albums, raises her own standards when she arrives on stage with an electric guitar. During instrumental riffs, the singer becomes impassioned, keeling over the instrument, and it becomes clear that the diminutive stature of this musician is in no way indicative of the talent that lies within. St. Vincent’s lyrics are descriptive and as she sings, the audience is still, almost reverent with eyes closed, almost as though they are visualizing the picture that she is painting with her words.
