Annie Clark has been teasing her upcoming album since last month, with posters touting its “[w]arm Wurlitzers and wit, glistening guitars and grit” and “sleaze and style for days” already popping up. But now it’s official: St. Vincent’s sixth album, Daddy’s Home, comes out on May 14. The title comes from the inspiration behind the album: Clark began writing this record following the end of her father’s prison sentence, a nine year incarceration for what she describes as “white-collar nonsense” in a Rolling Stone interview.
According to a Daddy’s Home press release, the music is inspired by old vinyl Clark listened to with her dad growing up, so the album is taking on a ’70s-influenced sound, particularly tied to “music made in sepia-toned downtown New York from 1971-1975.” Jack Antonoff is back as co-producer, but it’s sonically already miles away from 2017’s Masseduction.
The lead single, “Pay Your Way In Pain,” captures the essence of the early and mid-’70s, going full funk—but with a distinct St. Vincent twist. It’s very “What if St. Vincent made her own Young Americans?”
The video, directed by Bill Benz (who also directed Clark’s upcoming, extremely meta movie with Carrie Brownstein, The Nowhere Inn), also introduces a new aesthetic for St. Vincent. She’s wearing a similar outfit to the one from the Daddy’s Home promo posters, donning a bobbed blonde wig, a forest green suit, and gold jewelry. As Clark says in the press release, “Daddy’s Home collects stories of being down and out in downtown NYC. Last night’s heels on the morning train. Glamour that’s been up for three days straight.”
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“music made in sepia-toned downtown New York from 1971-1975.”Sepia is a color tone in old photos and Instagram filters, downtown New York was never actually that color
prove it
Sepia is also the color of old pee, and if those two words don’t describe NYC in the 1970s, I don’t know what does.
Smell-o-vision
Doesn’t she realize Kodachrome would be more representative of that decade?!? Cancel Annie Clark!
Kodachrome gives those nice bright colors. Gives you the greens of summer. Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah.Not sure that’s Annie’s vibe, in general.
You weren’t there!
…1970s, 1870s, let’s not be picky.
I’m such a huge fan of St. Vincent, so, needless to say, I’m very excited for this
For years I had trouble getting into her music, but Masseduction is so good that it made her back catalogue click. And I have a soft spot for dad rock, so this is kind of a win-win.
I was similar until I heard the song “Digital Witness” from her self-titled 2015 album. That made me a fan, but Masseducation completely rocked my world.
Los Ageless is a banger but nothing else has clicked for me the couple of times I’ve tried to get into her stuff.
It’s official: the 70s are so long ago that even artists use a Party City costume for inspiration.
I’m on a real ‘70s kick lately, and St. Vincent is excellent, so this sounds wonderful.
Wow she’s a dead ringer for Nastassja Kinski circa Paris, Texas. I can’t wait for this album!
Yes, I love guitar-heavy St. Vincent, but the ‘70s angle makes this sound more interesting to me and my tastes vs. Masseduction (which was still a good album). One of my favorite recent albums was Natalie Prass’s The Future and The Past, which is a really fun album, also heavy with the ‘70s/Anita Baker vibe. I’m expecting St. Vincent’s to be more on the electronic side, but I’m interested.
doublepost
I got a Sondra Locke vibe. I’m not sure what to make of this song yet. It hasn’t pulled me in like some of her other work.
Strange Mercy is still my favorite album of hers, and I’ll confess her subsequent works didn’t have quite the same impact for me, but honestly, I think that’s as much a reflection of my limited taste as a music listener. What I hear in her sound is something daring and new, and while it may not register with me, I think that could be as much because it’s ahead of its time.
I think that’s true for me too. I tend to stick to my comfort zone as far as music goes. I do venture out into more experimental artists. St Vincent is one of what I’d consider experimental. That’s probably laughable to some, but when people tend to push boundaries, it takes me a while to come on board 10 years ago, I didn’t think I would like saint vincent. By strange mercy, I loved her work. I loved her last record. I’m always about 6 months behind the trend. Usually the things that I don’t immediately embrace become the things that I appreciate most in the end
Masseduction wasn’t a hit for me, but I’m totally here for the grungy Blondie vibe I’m getting from that video. Seems like a lot of the sound is still very much in the last album’s wheelhouse, but getting a little more focused.
But… Pills! Los Ageless!! New York! Young Lover!!!!
I think it’s an okay album and I like a number of songs on it (Los Ageless was released as a single so far before the album it feels disconnected for me, but Happy Birthday, Johnny, New York, Slow Disco are all good).
Guess I prefer the earlier albums more. The St. Vincent album was sort of the start of that evolution in her sound that went a little more extreme on Masseduction and didn’t hit as well for me for whatever reason. But taking that vibe into a more specific… persona?… for this next album could be a good balancing/mix if the rest of the album is in the ballpark of the video.
You can’t say Los Ageless is disconnected when its motifs show up elsewhere in the album, most notably on Sugarboy as it builds to the track itself. Still, if you’re more into the first album’s sound, I can definitely see Masseduction being an adjustment. I just think it’s the apex of her directorial instinct. Incredibly precise and impeccably paced.
I don’t see it like this at all. My biggest problem with Masseduction is that its themes were already pretty worn down and tackled better by other artists. I’m sorry if I don’t want to hear another song about how craaaaazy of a city Los Angeles is and all the totally craaaaazy things that go on there.
I’m not exactly sure what the phrase “apex of her directorial instinct” means, but I think if you could ascribe that honor to any of her albums it would easily be Strange Mercy. If there’s any album that “sounds” completely like her, that would be it. I honestly think her S/T was a more successful version of the things she was attempting to do on Masseduction, which just takes the welcome restraint she had on “St. Vincent” and goes all the way with everything (Jack Antonoff). Which can certainly work in terms of new artistic directions- I mean, I honestly love when bands kind of just say fuck it and lean into the more out-there elements and the unique individual quirks of previous albums and explore them, expand them, whatever. In this case I feel like she was trying to do that so damn hard that the entire thing came off as a little inauthentic. A bit forced.
I’ll agree with the comment below that Masseduction has a lack of restraint that I liked more. But I don’t think that’s an artistic slam vs. taste. But the issue with Los Ageless is that it WAS released as a single well before the album, so the impact it has when listening to the album is lessened because it’s been heard for a while out of context. That comes down to singles-release strategy than anything else. The album is good, just think the others are better.
I really love how eventually all artist head back to the 70s and 80s and tend to do some really good work with it. See; Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino by Arctic Monkeys, King Of Song by Marching Church and Blinded By The Lights by the Weeknd.
In another 10 years or so there will probably be a similar trend with the 90s. I like the way popular music is passing me by, because it should, but I’ll admit I’m looking forward to guitar solos making their comeback.