The Stove Is Only Getting Hotter

St. Vincent “Pay Your Way In Pain”

“Pay Your Way In Pain” is a pastiche of elements traceable to Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic, Earth Wind & Fire, and Stevie Wonder, but Annie Clark wisely sidesteps retro vibes by filtering all of it through her established aesthetics and bisecting the track with a harsh synth groove at odds with the warmth associated with most of her reference points here. It might be a little disappointing if you were expecting a full reinvention, or reassuring if you were hoping she wouldn’t abandon her signature sounds. Mostly what I hear is the confidence of an auteur musician who bends her inspirations to suit her own fully-formed identity, and someone who honors genre-transforming figures by emulating their specific aesthetic choices as well as their own will to recreate traditional sounds in their image.

Clark’s vocal on “Pay Your Way In Pain” is outstanding – I hear a lot of Prince’s cadences in the verses, particularly the way he could twist self-pity into a sort of flirtation by inviting you to join in on his debasement. The most thrilling moment here is when she cuts loose with a big, theatrical high vibrato midway through the song, a classic showstopper move that pushes all the instruments out of her way before they all come crashing back in on another chorus. Given the choice, given the heart, given the tool, given the word, given the cheers, Annie Clark has decided to turn us all inside-out.

Buy it from Bandcamp.