St. Vincent is the stage name of Annie Clark. A one-time member of the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Steven’s backing band, the Berklee College of Music grad has firmly established herself in the indie-rock scene with her 2007 release Marry Me. As aesthetically pleasing as she is musically talented (always a good combination), she has opened for such acts as The National and The Arcade Fire, while capping off a busy year with an incendiary performance at Coachella.

Her versatile style is characterized by minor-chord tones coupled with a honed pop sensibility and a penchant for throwing in a well-placed waltz now and again. Hew album kicks off with the more experimental (in terms of instrumentation) “Now, Now,” which may lyrically come off as some sort of feminist anthem, bur the sheer musicality of it pushes it beyond any theoretical niche. The other standouts on the album are ‘Paris is Burning,’ a dark narrative of what I assume is the French revolution and “Human Racing” a nice jazzy ditty that showcases her intricate guitar work and beautiful voice.

Her live performance is accented by a backing band with forward-thinking instrumentation for an outfit with pop influences, and Clark ellicits a huge stage presence from her diminutive figure. Her Coachella performance was one of the best of the weekend even though it was in the middle of the day.

Clark recently won a PLUG independent music award for Female Artist of the Year, beating out Marisa Nadler and Natasha Khan (of Bat For Lashes). The recognition is warranted, as Marry Me was one of the most listenable and compelling albums of 2007, managing to meld pop music with her list of influences ranging from baroque to jazz.

The video for her first single “Jesus Saves, I Spend,” is a quirky and amusing affair featuring young boy scouts obtaining all sorts of strange and absurd badges and also a singing lizard. It manages to capture the playful nature of her music while being concurrently interesting to watch.

Now I’m not gonna get sanctimonious on you, but Annie Clark is begging for recognition on a larger scale. Instead of young girls looking up to scantily clad pop stars who don’t write their own songs and focus rather on sexual gyrations, wouldn’t it be more healthy to admire Clark, who manages to be attractive without exposing the majority of her mammaries, is an exceptionally talented musician, and writes music that is accessible for an untrained ear (despite being pleasing to the aurally educated also)? Don’t do me any favors, listen for yourself and make your own decisions.

www.myspace.com/stvincent