On Daddy's Home, St. Vincent Confirms She's Now One of Pop's Premiere Acts

Annie Clark reinvents herself again, this time by digging through the record crates of the 70s.

On 2017’s excellent MASSEDUCATION, St. Vincent transformed from indie darling to verified pop star. Never one to stay in a lane, she’s traded the future sounds of MASSEDUCATION for the musty record stacks of the 70s with her newest record, Daddy’s Home.

Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, has been churning out acclaimed albums for almost fifteen years now, never retreading the same territory. Starting as a member of the Polyphonic Spree, Clark also spent time in Sufjan Stevens’ touring band before going solo.

After three records under the St. Vincent moniker, Clark teamed up with David Byrne to release the brassy Love This Giant, a move that would rocket her into the next creative phase. The result was her self-titled record in 2014, named album of the year by many publications.

Clark toured the hell out of MASSEDUCATION, so it’s refreshing to see this brand new sound that she’s fashioned out of the gold tones of soul and funk’s past. Gone is the sleek leather, instead replaced with the smokey brown paneling of a dive bar.

Named Daddy’s Home after her father’s release from prison, it’s also a journey through his record collection. The album is chock-full of Wurlitzer, wah-wah pedal, and brass sections which combine with modern synths for a retro sound that’s also too current to come off as a tribute. Instrumentally, the show's star is the sitar Clark plays on the first half of the album.

Throughout Clark’s career, David Bowie's influence has been on the backburner many times, but Daddy’s Home is drenched in the “plastic soul” of Young Americans. On opener “Pay Your Way in Pain,” Bowie may be the backbone, but Clark twists the tune in a way only she could, combining the sound with the energy of Prince.

With the sounds and character studies of Elton John, Lou Reed, and Joni Mitchell present throughout, the biggest surprise comes on the album’s centerpiece “Live in the Dream,” a trip fit for Pink Floyd. Starting with spaciness comparable to “Us & Them,” Clark gives her best David Gilmour impression singing, “welcome child, you’re free of the cage, trying to seem sane, makes you so strange,” accompanied by soulful backing vocals. Its soaring guitar solo also demonstrates why Clark is one of the most exciting guitarists in music right now.

While Daddy’s Home is certifiably all St. Vincent, returning producer Jack Antonoff also deserves a load of credit for making this record sound as good as it does. Whether it’s the fade-in of the Wurlitzer intro on “The Melting of the Sun” or the tone of the drum fills on “Down and Out Downtown,” Antonoff has perfectly replicated the sounds of the era.

Instead of paying straightforward homage, though, Antonoff is busy bringing different instruments in and out, giving the feeling of walking from one room to another at a giant house party. Antonoff is always present in the modern music scene, and I can comfortably say this is the best his production work has sounded.

A little over a decade ago, I saw St. Vincent open for The National in a smaller room than the billing deserved. Though The National was reliably great, Annie Clark is who stole the show that night. Sometimes the transformation doesn’t always work when an artist makes the jump to pop stardom, but few deserve to be headlining festivals more than St. Vincent right now.

With Daddy’s Home, Clark has created her version of 70s soul - it’s funky and groovy but also deliciously sleazy.