New St. Vincent "Birth in Reverse"

Certainly one of the more exciting St. Vincent tracks in recent memory - even if it lacks a crisp hook. Can't say that David Byrne wasn't an influence on the groove (purveyed by Homer of Dap Kings fame) - it's skittering and jarring, and truly the focus of the track. All in all a great start from a much anticipated album campaign. St. Vincent's self titled record comes out 2/25 on new label home Republic/Loma Vista. Sad to see her leave 4AD - but so it goes.

New Video: David Byrne & St. Vincent – “Who”

 The latest installment from David Byrne and St. Vincent's collaborative project comes in the form of the above video for "Who." This isn't surprising. "Who" could expecting anything less from Byrne (wearing a lampshade while writing this?) Stream the full record Love This Giant out 9/11 via NPR here.

New Video: St. Vincent (Acoustic) @ La Route Du Rock

Annie Clark is dreamy. Simple as that. This impromptu acoustic performance of "Actor Out of Work" and "The Strangers" from her new record Actor at France's La Route Du Rock fest, as we like to say, just makes sense. During this performance, all is right with the world. Enjoy your Friday.

Late Night Blog Reel

Wilco: "You Never Know" - Conan
St. Vincent: "Marrow" - Letterman
Bat For Lashes: "Daniel" - Kimmel











After the jump.

St.Vincent's New Album Available for Full-Stream on NPR

Starting tonight at 11:59 p.m. ET, St.Vincent's highly anticipated release, Actor, will be available for full-stream on NPR HERE. The album will only be available for two weeks, so listen early and often. Actor drops May 5 via 4AD, and we are all very excited.

Monday Morning Aggregation

[mp3]

The Felice Brothers: "Run Chicken Run"

We're still processing a big weekend of music and sun including an amazing Crocodiles show at Pianos on Saturday night... so for now, enjoy some work that other folks have done.

Jon Pareles gives a nice take on the fantastic new Felice Brothers record in the New York Times today. Yonder Is the Clock comes out this Tuesday... certainly should be on the top of any 4/7 shopping list. Read the review HERE.

Our new friend at the fantastic Microphone Memory Emotion has a review of Brooklyn's Tanlines and the cumbia explosion that was the Zizek show on Saturday at Santos Party House. Check it out HERE.

The beleagured myspace music is featuring the much buzzed about new record from the Doves that comes out tomorrow. Stream the whole album HERE.

Phoenix played SNL. Phoenix's new record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix comes out May 26th. For what it's worth, the record has been far from impressing us of late. Check out "Lisztomania" HERE and "1901" HERE. They also played their most popular tune (ok, also maybe one of their best) "Too Young" during the credits.

Pop Tarts Suck Toasted has a effusive review of the new St. Vincent record Actor, which leaked this weekend. Certainly looking forward to hearing that. Read the review HERE.

St. Vincent Tour Dates - mp3

St. Vincent "The Strangers" mp3

First off, thanks to Lauren Ross for giving us an "I was there when" moment when she first introduced us to St. Vincent at an empty Pianos several years ago. Amazing. (Lauren was in the band at the time!) Besides being one of our artists to watch in '09, St. Vincent has announced a full tour behind her upcoming record Actor due May 4th on 4AD. A few key outlets have the record and all reports back have been stellar. Needless to say - we're pretty psyched! This could be a break-out year for one Ms. Annie Clark. Mp3 above, SXSW details and tour dates after the jump.


"St. Vincent (nee Annie Clark) will preview songs from 'Actor' next week with two performances at SXSW: 11pm on Wednesday, March 18, at the 4AD showcase at Central Presbyterian Church; and 12 midnight on Friday, March 20, at the Billions showcase at Antone's.

'Actor' is available for pre-order now. Early CD and LP orders come with a free limited edition 7" featuring the album track "Actor Out of Work," and the exclusive, non-album track "Bicycle" on the flipside. Go here for more info:
http://www.beggarsgroupusa.com/releases/actor/"

ST. VINCENT 2009 U.S. TOUR DATES
5/19/2009 Somerville, MA Somerville Theatre
5/20/2009 New York, NY Webster Hall
5/21/2009 Philadelphia, PA Unitarian Church
5/22/2009 Washington, DC Black Cat
5/24/2009 George, WA Sasquatch!
5/25/2009 Portland, OR Aladdin Theater
5/27/2009 San Francisco, CA Bimbo's 365 Club
5/28/2009 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
5/30/2009 San Diego, CA Casbah
5/31/2009 Phoenix, AZ Modified
6/2/2009 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
6/3/2009 Omaha, NE Slowdown Jr.
6/4/2009 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
6/5/2009 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
6/7/2009 Chicago, IL Epiphany
6/10/2009 Lexington, KY The Dame
6/11/2009 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
6/12/2009 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo
6/16/2009 Birmingham, AL Bottle Tree
6/18/2009 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre
6/19/2009 Austin, TX Mohawk

Women to Watch - 2009

Photo Credit: Annabel Mehran

We've been thinking about this post for a few weeks, and it seems that every day there is a new record released from another amazing female artist. So, before this list becomes unmanageably long, we're posting it this afternoon. Below you'll find some of the women that are making it happen in the first half of '09 -- a few are making their debuts, while others have been around for an amazing record or two. Noticeably absent from our list will be Neko Case, Nite Jewel, Lissy Trullie and Fever Ray but only because everyone knows about the new Neko already, and we've been giving mad love to Nite Jewel, Lissy, and Fever Ray over the past few weeks. That is, until the web sheriff pimp smacked us the other day (re-posting Fever Ray soon). See after the jump for Stark's list of women to watch in the first half of 2009.


St. Vincent:
Album: Actor (4AD)
Release Date: May 5th

To use a typical writing cliche -- St. Vincent exploded onto the scene in 2007 with her debut Marry Me. She became the indie darling the world was looking for; physically striking and capable of delivering charming yet, forward-looking- orchestral-indie-rock and roll. Marry Me had the heights and pitfalls of a typical debut. Forgettable tracks clouded sections of the record, yet the highs were unbelievably high, showing the promise of a rising star. St. Vincent (Annie Clark) will debut songs from Actor at this year's SXSW festival. Clark has invested in the help of co-producer John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Smog, Polyphonic Spree, etc) as well as a french horn, violin, sarongi, bass, and percussion. Here's hoping these 11 new songs will reflect the grandeur and potential of Marry Me.


Laura Barrett:
Album: Victory Garden (Paper Bag Records)
Release Date: February 24th
MP3: "Bluebird"

What's initially arresting about Laura Barrett's great new record is the effortless mix of layered orchestration and inspired folk-pop songwriting. It's a record symbolized by Barrett's signature instrument, the Kalimba. Tight and percussive, yet delicate and quite lovely, Victory Garden has the potential to pass a listener by on the first few listens; yet, with devoted ears, it's ultimately a very rewarding experience.

Polly Scattergood:
Album: Polly Scattergood (Mute)
Release Date: May 19
MP3: "Nitrogen Pink"

Mute is one of those labels where you make sure to open their emails. We had never heard of Polly Scattergood before, but one listen to "Nitrogen Pink" was enough to realize that there was yet another stellar (and badass) female artist breaking onto the '09 scene. A self-described "songwriter who sings," Scattergood's sometimes girlish vocals are buried beneath layers of guitars and electronics. Her delivery and strong melodic sense are such that they drive songs and make them, frankly, catchy as hell. Already hailed as a smash in the UK, Scattergood releases her single "I Hate the Way" and B-side "Poem Song" next week.

Laura Gibson:
Album: Beasts of Seasons (Hush Records)
Release: February 24th
MP3: "Spirited"
Stream the full record at NPR
Laura Gibson is not necessarily an '09 new-comer. She released her lovely, If You Come to Greet Me in 2006 and Six White Horses EP in 2008. Beasts of Seasons finds Gibson coming into her own. On the back of stellar production from the amazing Tucker Martine, Gibson has gathered an array of stellar musicians from the M. Ward, Bright Eyes and Menomena camps. Also featuring Laura Veirs, the record has potential to weigh in more on the AAA side of the game, but does well to keep the arrangements more edgy and atmospheric than your usual middle-of-the-road, folk singer-songwriter record. Definitely another fantastic record from a talented songwriter.