St. Vincent exhibits raw emotion and cutting lyricism in new album ‘All Born Screaming’

It feels strange that Annie Clark (St. Vincent) got her start in Sufjan Stevens’ touring band, performing earnest stripped-back songs like ‘John Wayne Gacy Jr.’ and ‘Chicago’. Still, as both artists have progressed in their careers there are some clear similarities between them – a gaping wound of emotions pouring throughout their music. However, whilst Sufjan Stevens has grown introspective and focused on the emotionality of his experiences to drive his music, St. Vincent has gone in the opposite direction. Each emotion is drenched in abrasive, driving production that swallows you whole and forces you to remain in it throughout the album. It’s something she was always able to depict in some form, whether that be through the 70s homage on Daddy’s Home (2021) or the synth-heavy MASSEDUCATION (2017), but only now does it feel its most apparent as Clark has stripped away any pretensions and simply bears her open soul across her newest album.

‘Broken Man’ is enveloped in powerful, distorted guitars and drum kicks

A clear example of this is ‘Broken Man’, the lead single on her latest, self-produced album All Born Screaming. The track depicts someone fundamentally wrecked and clinging to their partner with religious desperation, begging them to “nail yourself right to me”. The song has themes and lyrics that could be very easily packaged in melancholy and minimalist production, but Clark steers far away from it. ‘Broken Man’ is enveloped in powerful, distorted guitars and drum kicks whilst the lyrics are delivered in a tone that, whilst having undercurrents of despair, are delivered with a sarcastic detachment. It’s a track, along with a video where Clark thrashes around in flames, that feels like something Nine Inch Nails would’ve put on The Downward Spiral as the torments of trying to generate catharsis from personal experiences are turned into beautiful music. 

This thread runs throughout the album, with heavy reverb-fuelled guitars and gritty synths expertly produced. Just before the chorus of ‘Violent Times’ a guitar riff crashes into the horns and pianos that the songs have been centred around, erupting into Clark singing of waking up in hell and the embrace of lovers in the ashes of Pompeii. ‘Flea’ has a similar powerful guitar riff appearing in the chorus, its strength a testament to St Vincent’s power as a guitarist, that swarms over the plucks of a gritty bass line, with Clark’s delivery, being far more sarcastic in her tone than anywhere else on the album. The track is aided even further by the appearance of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters/ Nirvana) on the drums, as well as in ‘Broken Man’, to make the track one of the standouts on the album. ‘Sweetest Fruit’, another stand-out on the album, takes full advantage of Clark’s vocal abilities as glitchy production and fierce guitar riffs are topped with her delivering swelling, powerful calls throughout. Even through all the effects on her voice adding a menacing undertone to it, the raw ability in her voice shines through, piercing the song as she does throughout the record.

With the aid of critically acclaimed and multi-talented musicians, including Dave Grohl, Clark’s new album is potent and raw

With these themes of despair and brutal honesty coursing through the album, and with the production just as raw and gritty, it makes the final track ‘All Born Screaming’ feel slightly out of left field. The guitars are light and peppy, with the drums keeping in a similar timbre. Even though the lyrics discuss straitjackets and “a karaoke version of Leonard’s ‘hallelujah’ in my whole damn/ life I had never exhaled”, it’s delivered with an upbeat shimmer that causes you to briefly question where the emotions underpinning the album went. Have they all been resolved and wrapped up with some shiny synths and bass lines? Clark avoids this tactfully, weaving in crushing synths reminiscent of earlier tracks on the album until they overwhelm the levity of the song’s earlier sections. When the song cuts out to a singular synth line, functioning as a heartbeat there’s the slow building of harsh drum beats and synths with a menacing, growing choir repeating “We’re all born screaming” as the song swarms in new, conflicting parts of productions. By the quiver of the last breath of the chorus, any of the positive sheen of earlier in the song is gone and you’re left in the hollows of it.

Though St Vincent has garnered critical and commercial success through both her solo work and collaborations with artists like David Byrne, Bon Iver, Jack Antonoff, and Taylor Swift – All Born Screaming feels like a harnessing of her complete artistic capability. With the aid of critically acclaimed and multi-talented musicians, including Dave Grohl, Clark’s new album is potent and raw, drawing together all the highlights of her previous albums with beautiful, cutting lyrics, driving production, and guitar riffs that only St Vincent could create.

Recommended Listening: ‘Broken Man’

★★★★