St. Vincent Gets Buried Alive in 'Cruel' Video

Annie Clark, or St. Vincent as she is known on stage, has been a music press darling over the past two years, rising to fame with the off-kilter pop of her 2009 album 'Actor.' Now, in celebration of her upcoming record 'Strange Mercy,' St. Vincent has released an entirely creepy, masterfully directed video for 'Cruel.'

The song starts out like a Judy Garland homage with a funky beat behind it that slowly morphs aside cinematic string arrangements and progressive rock chords. The accompanying video was shot over two days in the San Francisco area and directed by Terri Timely. In a post for our colleagues at the Huffington Post, Clark wrote about being buried alive during the shoot by a bereaved and disturbed family.

"These two days are a bit of a blur, but I know in the midst of things I got dunked in water by a 10-year-old child, watched an amateur pyrotechnics demonstration, had some great laughs with the great girls working in wardrobe, learned how to ballroom dance (sort of), and felt incredibly grateful to be working with such talented and sweet people," she said. "The rest of it ... well, I'll just have to watch the video to remember ..."

Click over to the Huffington Post for Annie's behind-the-scenes look at her video for 'Cruel.' 'Strange Mercy' will be released Sept. 13 via 4AD.

Watch St. Vincent's Video for 'Cruel'