St. Vincent

Wed., Feb. 27, 8 p.m., $10-$12, with Foreign Born, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.

by John Vettese

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Published: Feb 19, 2008

rock/pop

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One night last fall, I attempted to combat a bout of insomnia by plowing through all of the unlistened-to MP3s on my computer. Somewhere around 3:45 a.m., I arrived at St. Vincent's "Now Now," and its ghostly blend of a couple hundred Annie Clarks multitracked over searing instrumental discord. My eyes popped way the hell open in terror. I didn't get back to sleep till well after dawn. A vet of the indie orchestra scene (Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stevens), Clark's approach as a solo artist mirrors more the work of The Knife in its highly deliberate mix of delicate euphony and pure creepiness. On Marry Me (Beggars Banquet), you're confronted with brutish electronics and lyrics that might have originated from the diary of a desperate stalker (the title cut). But there's a balance of Baroque choral melodies, lightly plucked strings, dreamy Mazzy Star flourishes and genuine love songs — stuff that would be much more welcome in the middle of the night.

Wed., Feb. 27, 8 p.m., $10-$12, with Foreign Born, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.

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