St. Vincent

The adventurousness of Kate Bush's quirky and consistently innovative music didn't just inspire Tori Amos's intense, introspective songwriting. Clearly, Annie Clark, performing under the name St. Vincent, has learned a thing or two from Bush's unique and artistically ambitious vision. Clark's songs have an oddly nostalgic feel to them, as though music from the past was coming back to haunt you. Perhaps it's the emotional immediacy of the songs that have this effect, not unlike PJ Harvey's best material. Clark — who's spent time in Glenn Branca's 100 Guitar Orchestra, Sufjan Stevens's touring outfit and the Polyphonic Spree — also seems to share Harvey's cinematic sensibilities, penning songs filled with heady atmospheres and well-orchestrated flares of emotion offset by moments of delicate beauty and tenderness. Have a taste for sublime pop that flirts with the dark side? Then St. Vincent is for you.