Daddy's Home

St. Vincent

On Daddy's Home, St. Vincent decides to take it back to a 70s funk and blues sound; a sound I would imagine hearing in a smoky lounge. This is a sound I really don't have a frame of reference for and for that reason, I didn't find this record to be all that captivating stylistically. I think the record is excellently produced though, and Annie Clark performs with so much swagger. The incredibly slow pacing and smooth instrumentation, however, kinda puts me in this lull and when the record is done washing over me, I feel unaffected, unchanged.

There were two tracks I liked quite a bit on this record. The first single Pay Your Way In Pain is the only real upbeat number on the record. In addition to its glam flavour, it has these really quirky qualities in some of the sounds and backup vocals; qualities I have come to expect from St. Vincent records but seems to be strangely absent on the rest of the tracks here. I also really enjoyed Sombody Like Me, a track with perhaps the fastest tempo on the record but also very gentle. Fast and loud are often synonymous in my mind so the dichotomy really caught my attention. I love the swift, finger-picked guitar that plays throughout and the occasional soaring lap steel. There is also a really thrilling rush of strings midway through the track that is so lovely. For some reason, I also find Clark's vocal performance to be really warm and comforting; almost maternal which is strange considering that Clark sings about her reluctance to see her self-worth or value.