Strange Mercy

Strange Mercy is the third studio album by American musician St. Vincent, released on September 13, 2011 by 4AD, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States. The album's cover art was designed by St. Vincent, and was photographed by Tina Tyrell. The album peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200, it was St. Vincent's highest charting album at the time, later being surpassed by her next two solo albums, St. Vincent (2014) and Masseduction (2017). In addition, Strange Mercy received significant critical acclaim. The album was recognized as the 23rd Best Album of the Decade So Far by Pitchfork in August 2014. Strange Mercy sold nearly 30,000 copies in the three weeks following its release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As of January 2012, UK sales stand at 7,500 copies according to The Guardian. Background and recording Strange Mercy was written in Seattle while Annie Clark spent time in isolation, an experience she described as a "loneliness experiment" and "a cleanse". This was to escape from the information overload she was experiencing with New York and modern technology. Clark arrived in Seattle in October 2010, stayed at the Ace Hotel and used a studio provided by Jason McGerr. The album was announced in a Twitter post on January 12, 2011. In early March, producer John Congleton, who also worked with Clark on Actor (2009), commented that he and Clark were nearly a third of the way through recording the new release. The album was recorded at Elmwood Studio in Dallas, Texas.