A Pantomime Of A Modern Girl

St. Vincent featuring Cate Le Bon “All Born Screaming”

The groove of “All Born Screaming” is twitchy yet smooth, like a musical expression of an existential panic that’s buried deep enough that it doesn’t show up on the surface but is the animating force behind every movement. Annie Clark has been exploring this contrast of internal angst and outward placidity for a long time now, and almost always with some degree of dark humor. The lyrics for this song presents life as a cosmic joke, a sysiphean struggle played as slapstick from the cradle to the grave. The mood of the song is fairly light and as the song reaches its climax, it’s more like a shrug than a catharsis. She’s not letting go of frustration here, and it’s not a denial of desire. It’s mostly just admitting that it’s kinda funny.

Buy it from Bandcamp.