St. Vincent, Pattern Is Movement

One of the most memorable turns of phrase from the past few years of original rock music has to be "Jesus Saves, I Spend," from St. Vincent's 2007 debut full-length Marry Me.

Born Annie Clark, the 26-year-old multi-instrumentalist—who has toured as a guitarist with the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens—grew up in Dallas and now lives in Brooklyn. And she's been making major waves recently, having sold 30,000 copies of her eclectic, passionate debut (which juxtaposed indie rock, gospel, Southern folk, jazz and classical music), and earning critical praise for the similarly pleasing, locally produced (by The Paper Chase's John Congleton), just-released Actor.

Clark—perhaps the female answer to Andrew Bird—has been writing and performing music for half her life now, and the intensity and exceptional skill that comes along with that kind of commitment is even more apparent at her shows.

—Adam Perry