All Born Screaming

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With her eighth album as St. Vincent, Annie Clark proves once again that she is a triple threat—singer, songwriter, guitarist—to be reckoned with. "On the street I'm a king-size killer/ I can make your kingdom come," she sings on the excellent "Broken Man," declaring her place as the new P.J. Harvey and unafraid to pair sex appeal with the grotesque.  Wielding barbed guitar and monster swagger, Clark holds her own within the song's rhythm extravaganza: verses transition from an industrial grind—what she describes as a "slow burn"—propelled by drum machine, before kicking in with tightly controlled percussion precision from jazz drummer Mark Giuliana. Then, Dave Grohl comes in and overwhelmingly pumps up the jam. He's back for more on slithering "Flea"—Clark's guitar searing and bass from Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Mars Volta, Nine Inch Nails) threatening to blow out the speakers. (Drummers Josh Freese [Devo, Foo Fighters, Paul Westerberg] and Warpaint's Stella Mogzawa also show up on All Born Screaming.)

On her own and not working within the quirkily mannered format of Jack Antonoff, who produced the last two St. Vincent albums, Clark takes some major swings and totally connects. "Big Time Nothing," a co-write with Welsh singer-songwriter Cate LeBon, rides a slick funk groove and gives off major '80s Peter Gabriel vibes in more than just name. "Sweetest Fruit" summons both the playfulness of St. Vincent's great 2014 song "Birth in Reverse" and Brian Eno's rococo tendencies, with Clark going disco-diva on the vocals. (She has said the song, an ode to the late hyperpop artist Sophie, is admiringly about "people trying for transcendence.") "So Many Planets" plays with tropical and Afrobeat sounds, as Clark's machete guitar cuts through the lush, green growth. She does some full-moon howling (the New Romantic-esque "Violent Times"), taps into a sacred sound bath (vibrating and deep-bottom ended "Hell Is Near"), and summons Tori Amos-esque drama on the shadowy dystopian ballad "The Power's Out": "Came the message on the station/ 'Power's out across the nation/ And ladies and gentlemen, it seems we've got a problem'/ The man on my screen said just as somebody shot him," she sings, guitar haunting the landscape like a slow-spin siren.

The title track, also written with Cate LeBon, is pure art rock—ingredients include guitar squiggles, itchy drums, liquid bass and Clark hitting songbird notes. Clocking in at nearly seven minutes, it comes to a stop halfway through, then roars back to life with an 8-bit video game bounce ushering in a solemn choir; noises build, clang, bang, speed up and finally reach full boil before Clark turns the heat down to a simmer. All Born Screaming is a brash contender as one of St. Vincent's best. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz