Video: St. Vincent, ‘Cruel’

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St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark, follows up her 2009 album, “Actor” with the release of “Strange Mercy” on Sept. 13, and the wide eyed singer continues to involve fans with intriguing promotion for the upcoming record. After asking her Twitter followers to “unlock” the first single “Surgeon,” Clark now provides this Terri Timely-directed clip where a disturbing family kidnaps her in an attempt to replace their mother/wife. Her warm, feathery vocals add to the oddly morbid storyline, but the quirky rhythms – not to mention the sludgy guitar solo she plays while she is sacked and tied up — only highlight her ability to wittily translate a single thought into a multi-layered song.

||| Download: “Surgeon” (via Stereogum)

||| Live: St. Vincent plays Oct. 18 at the Music Box.