[troutman]

Can't wait to see St. Vincent at Sled Island.

http://www.guitarplanet.eu/the-top-5...right-now.html

#1

Annie Erin Clark’s (St. Vincent) entire career defies definition; she started as a member of barmy psychedelic troupe The Polyphonic Spree before joining Sujfan Stevens’ backing band, and today she’ll team up with David Bryne one moment and make music for Boardwalk Empire the next. Her music mixes gorgeous alluring melodies with harrowing guitar noise and disorientating electronics. As a guitarist she’s adept at picking her moments. She’ll restrain her playing to create a predominate mood. Layering is crucial. Winding riffs lead to crushing chords and drilling walls of noise, and just when you least expect it - a scintillating solo will spring to life.

St. Vincent is the most complete artist on this list. She has the five star albums, she’s legendary live, and she’s the most likely to side step expectation and do something complete bananas. She’s a rock star, she can play, and she offers a new and wholly 21st century take on what a guitarist can be, and can look like.

http://punditfromanotherplanet.com/2...album-release/

http://fernandogros.com/category/word/

Of course, one could make an aesthetic case for not liking Annie Clark’s style. Many guitarists aspire to play with smooth, fluid phrasing, looking to emulate players like Robben Ford, Larry Carlton or Joe Satriani, but Clark has chosen a more angular path, reminding me of players like Marc Ribot, Vernon Reid, Adrian Belew and Frank Zappa (all of whom were, coincidentally, huge inspirations for me).