Annie Clarke, who is St. Vincent, has received some serious buzz in the last year after she blew into the blog-o-sphere with a small EP and eventually an out the gate record. The Dallas-born singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, got her start as a hair model (it is gorgeous!) before eventually making her way as a member of the Polyphonic Spree playing guitar and to singing back-up vocals for the beloved Sufjan Stevens. She eventually broke out on her own, which resulted in her debut record Marry Me (2007, Beggars Banquet), and “female artist of the year” at the same year’s Plug awards.

And for all you Boston readers, Annie Clarke attended Berklee College of Music, where in 2003 she and several fellow students put together a 2003 EP, called Ratsliveonnoevilstar. By 2006, while touring with Sufjan, she put out a small EP, just three tracks, under the moniker St. Vincent, called Paris is Burning–featuring the title track and even a wistful, sweeping cover of Nico’s “These Days”. Her debut full-length, Marry Me, was released last summer and has since helped to solidify her place among the indie music sect.

Of her sophomore release, Clarke claimed it to be “sonically-inspired by Prince”. The record, called Actor, will drop May 5, and is already getting a lot of good feedback, including from this here humble blogger, who quite loves the vibe on “The Strangers”, which includes some intriguing instrumentation and fuzzed out guitar. Yum.

What’s more, St. Vincent will descent on the Somerville Theatre May 19 in support of the brand new record. So be sure to head out for some intriguing tunes.

Enjoy a track off her forthcoming release.

[St. Vincent – The Strangers.]