St.Vincent, The Theater Fire, Peter and the Wolf

Everything I know about St. Vincent--which consists of Annie Clark doing everything save for drumming, which is handled by Brian Teasley--comes courtesy the Polyphonic Spree'r's MySpace page, where four songs are available for streaming (and dreaming about, alas). That Clark is not better known (where, may I ask those who know, is her Observer cover story?) is due to the fact she has not yet released her full-length; at that point, perhaps, we will rightly hail her as an essential fixture, as crucial as any comer in this town's estimable musical history. That's an oversell, you say? Then you've not yet heard "Marry Me," which sounds like bedroom Burt Bacharach-Brian Wilson; or "Your Lips Are Red," the song Kim Deal's been looking for her entire life; or "All My Stars Are Aligned," where Jimmy Webb meets John Lennon on the way to Van Dyke Parks' house; or "Paris Is Burning," which waltzes across 50 years of torch-pop history. If this makes Clark sound like a litany of influences in search of a singular voice, beg my pardon; this quartet sends me scrambling for better descriptions than the mere hyperbole of the florid adjectives she deserves. Is it too early to proclaim Thursday's gig with the Theater Fire best show ever? Maybe.