On May 5, 4AD will release Actor the anticipated new album by St. Vincent (nee Annie Clark) [Myspace], and the follow-up to her first album ‘Marry Me,’ one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2007. Actor was co-produced by Clark and John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Polyphonic Spree etc…) and features eleven new songs, all written and arranged by Clark.

Actor takes the ambitious compositional and sonic underpinnings of Clark’s debut as a starting point and never looks back. The arrangements are more masterful, the songwriting grander, the performances ever more confident and inspired. “I wanted to make these songs technicolor animatronic rides,” says Clark.

Clark, “a playful chanteuse [and] fearsome shredder” (NY Times), sings and plays guitar, bass and keys on ‘Actor,’ with woodwind contributions from Hideaki Aomori (Sufjan Stevens) and Alex Sopp (Bjork, Phillip Glass), and additional rhythm section work by McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake. Other musicians on the album include Mike Atkinson (French horn, score consultant), Daniel Hart (violin, sarongi), William Flynn (bass), and percussionists Jeff Ryan, Matthias Bossi, and Aynsley Powell.

St. Vincent will preview songs from Actor with two shows at this year’s South by Southwest conference in Austin: Wednesday, March 18 at the Central Presbyterian Church as part of the 4AD showcase, and Friday, March 20 at Antone’s as part of the Billions Corporation showcase. Clark will also tour the U.S. this year with Bonnaroo and Sasquatch! Festival performances already confirmed and a full itinerary to be announced soon.

The first St. Vincent album Marry Me earned widespread praise – including a memorable 2008 article in The New York Times Magazine – and heralded the arrival of “a bewitching entertainer who demands every second of your attention” (Chicago Tribune). Clark toured extensively in support of ‘Marry Me’ with artists like The National, Death Cab for Cutie, and Arcade Fire, and was named Female Artist of the Year at the 2008 PLUG Independent Music Awards. Before recording as St. Vincent, Annie Clark was a member of The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens’ touring band, and performed with Glenn Branca’s guitar orchestra.

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