St. Vincent

How does she make it sound so easy? Multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark is no stranger to crowds—she’s a veteran guitarist for the Polyphonic Spree, Glenn Branca, and Sufjan Stevens—but she’s twice as engrossing solo as St. Vincent. Her 2007 debut, Marry Me, was the steel of record that singer-songwriters twice her age cannot accomplish, a musicianship marvel of convoluted, endlessly confident baroque-tinged rock. This month’s follow-up, Actor, ups the catchy dance ambition and then undercuts it with mordant wit and furious dynamic shifts. Oh, Annie, I think I love you. And to be this good, you must be mad. With Pattern Is Movement.

Wed., May 20, 8 p.m., 2009