St. Vincent (aka: Anni Clark), for years has lived in the shadows as one of many members of The Polyphonic Spree and a member of Sufjan Steven's band. It seems Clark hasn't just stepped out of the background, she's plunged head first) into the creation of a lush wall of sound. Clark's voice may be most readily compared to that of Beth Gibbons (Portishead), and on her more upbeat tracks one can imagine that St. Vincent may be what Portishead would sound like a bit less digitized and intense. There is definitely a nod to Sufjan's musical style(she did help create it after all!). That is to say that dashing horns, lush strings, a sweet chorus, and many musical accessories that often fall to the wayside (vibraphone, clavieta, dulcimer, triangle, etc.) add a brisk, rich quirkiness to some songs. In short her live shows are wonderfully orchestrated and beautifully executed particularly for fans of Portishead, Sufjan Stevens, Broadcast, PJ Harvey, Amy Winehouse, and Rufus Wainwright.

This Swedish duo get freaky with a hybrid of tribal folkisms, spiritually slanted pop music and manic drumming, following the kind of blueprint set out by all the various 'wacky' groups that came out following all the odd American folk fusions that did the rounds after Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom started making it big.Leaf Records.