St Vincent at All Points East: A powerful but playful performer with an eye for detail

St Vincent’s attention to detail is something to behold.

From the curious uniforms in which she dresses her masked backing band and technician to the six identical guitars in varying neon shades she rotates throughout the set, this is more than just a bunch of musicians jamming in a park – it’s something theatrical and precise, like Kraftwerk’s robots.

The best songs in St Vincent’s set come from her flawless recent LP Masseduction, with cuts like Los Ageless and the title track showing off Clark’s expressive, wide-ranging vocals while delivering irresistible hooks and squelchy electronics. She picks a few songs from her 2014 self-titled album, too, subtly rescoring them to better fit the Masseduction sound.

It’s hard to take your eyes off Annie Clark, with her no-warning switches between guitar hero and weeping automaton, between rock goddess and electropop queen, meaning we never get close to a dull moment.

And a stunning, a capella verse about east London seemingly improvised at the start of New York early in the set means we’re putty in her hands.

I only wonder how those poor band members could see anything through the stocking masks and Sia wigs - but then perhaps they really were machines.

4/5