Retreat by Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, from the forthcoming Give The People What They Want (Daptone); streaming here.
Retreat? Sharon Jones? No way, unless we're talking about a step back into the glory of Motown past.
The new single from the Brooklyn-based retro-soul outfit walks fierce with bells, brass, sass and sax. It starts with a timpani roll and warning shots from a fearsome Jones, "Lay with me, and you'll play with fire."
The dude coming her way is full of swag, but he needs to know that the combustible singer was formerly a prison guard. "I come in blazing," she sings, like a demonized Diana Ross.
The cinematic track closes with the hard-floor clacking of footsteps walking away, with a close-up of Jones wiping her hands of the epic mess she left behind to the listener's imagination.