Strange Mercy
| Strange Mercy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by St. Vincent | ||||
| Released | September 12, 2011 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:51 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | John Congleton | |||
| St. Vincent chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 85/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The A.V. Club | A− |
| The Daily Telegraph | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| The Guardian | |
| Los Angeles Times |  |
| NME | 9/10 |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 9/10 |
Strange Mercy is the third studio album by musician St. Vincent, released by 4AD on September 12, 2011, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The album's cover art was designed by St. Vincent, and was photographed by Tina Tyrell. The album peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200, making it St. Vincent's highest charting album yet, only to be surpassed by her next solo album, St. Vincent. In addition, Strange Mercy also received significant critical acclaim.
The album was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far by Pitchfork Media in August 2014.
Strange Mercy was written in Seattle while Annie Clark spent time in isolation, an experience she described as a "loneliness experiment" and "a cleanse." This was to escape from the information overload she was experiencing with New York and modern technology. Clark arrived in Seattle on October 2010, stayed at the Ace Hotel and used a studio provided by Jason McGerr.
"I read about Nick Cave's approach to songwriting and how you just have to approach it like a day job: put on a suit and trousers in aspects of it, and get to work. I figured that, in order to do that, I needed to go to a place where I wouldn't be distracted by friends or fun or anything like that. I just wanted to be alone in a little bit of isolation. So I went out to Seattle for a month and rented a studio from my friends in Death Cab for Cutie and just worked there twelve hours a day. It was a good exercise because I'd never done it so vigorously. I've always written at home, so it was nice to just go elsewhere; to have a separate space in order to be creative; and also to learn how to turn on the faucet and not judge what's coming out… I'm always just following my ears. At the end of the day, that's all you really have. That's how I've been able to develop and grow over the course of my albums. I think writer's block – this is the quote I've read – was a term invented in Los Angeles by people who don't know how to write. There are so many ways to be creative that I just don't believe in writer's block. I think that's a fundamental lack of imagination. Once, I was sort of stuck, so I just transcribed all of Madonna's first record, because I wanted to see how it worked." – Annie "St Vincent" Clark
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