Musician Monday: St. Vincent

Welcome back to Musician Monday! I know there hasn't been a post in a while; I've been on a very busy schedule that has just freed up as I have just finished both my latest round of Four O'Clock exams and my Phikeia Education to become a full member of the best fraternity ever, Phi Delta Theta. Now that I'm more free, expect some big things. This week I'm very excited to highlight my favorite modern indie female musician: St. Vincent!

She has one of the most beautiful voices I've heard in a while. It is very pure and full, and she uses it to full effect in the wide variety of songs that she plays. Half of the time St. Vincent sounds like a mother soothing her crying child and the rest of the time she sounds sultry and seductive. Its an awe-inspiring mix. Past her voice, St. Vincent is skilled at playing guitar, bass, keyboard, and (coolest of all) the theremin. For those who don't know what a theremin is, it is a device with two antennae; one controls volume and the other pitch. They both vary by the distance the artists hands are from the antennae. It's a freaky instrument that looks quite hard to play, but the sound is quite unique.

To mention St. Vincent would be "Cruel" without mentioning my favorite work by hers, Love this Giant. This album is a collaborative album between the lovely St. Vincent and Talking Heads singer David Byrne. This is where I first discovered St. Vincent, and for that I am truly thankful. She has also been in The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band until she launched her own career. Besides Love this Giant, she has produced four other studio albums, all of which being absolutely fantastic. My song picks for St. Vincent are as follows:

Ice Age (3:13)

This is the first song I heard by St. Vincent, on her collab with David Byrne. I love how progressive the theme in the song is. It starts low and builds in strength and energy as St. Vincent's voice gets louder and the whole thing climaxes in a beautiful cacophony. It's like a siren song, luring me into the rest of her works.

Cruel (3:35)

Wow, just wow. This song has a similar progression of buildup of energy to Ice Age, which is an indicator of why I love this song so much as well. The guitar line is beautiful as well; it's got that awesome whiny feel that grows into a scream that captivates the listener.

Dilettante (4:04)

Dilettante comes off of the same album as Cruel, Strange Mercy, and is the perfect example of St. Vincent's sultry, seductive voice emerging from within her and capturing your soul. This song has simple backing to the vocals, and I feel like this shows off the amazing vocals.

St. Vincent has plenty more awesome songs that I would feature, but I want to keep these posts to three songs, unless of course you'd like to see more. In that case let me know and I'll toy around with larger numbers. What do you think about St. Vincent? Let me know in the comments and leave me a message if you think there is someone I should feature on Musician Monday.