St. Vincent w/ Wildbirds & Peacedrums

After beefing up her credentials through time on the road with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens, two acts whose expansive arrangements she doubtlessly studied, Annie Clark went solo as St. Vincent in 2007, releasing Marry Me, a chilly album coated with layers of baroque pop, classical flourishes and mannered quirk. Clark’s 2009 follow-up, Actor, is even more striking, resurrecting the frilly woodwinds and whimsical sounds of old Disney records, but using them in the service of a cycle of songs nearly as bleak as Lou Reed’s Berlin. Clark has emerged in the last year or two as one of indie-rock’s most prolific players, recording with The National, Bon Iver and The New Pornographers. She also tours like crazy, last playing Milwaukee just this past summer.