Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By St Vincent, Loma Vista Recordings 2021.
New York based Annie Clark, better known as St Vincent, has recorded an album that combines elements from ‘70s psych rock and glam with a smear of funk and even a bit of lounge and vaudeville in her new work, and I love it.
Annie Clarke is a talented songwriter and she reaches new heights on this disc.
There’s a level of unbridled experimentation that hasn’t been there, at least to the same extent, on her earlier work.
She also has changed with her voice and delivery style, often singing through a filter for effect.
Sometimes these experiments have gone a little astray but I’ve got to give her credit for trying for something different.
I was very taken with her last album, Mass Education, but Daddy’s Home is a further step up in class and sophistication.
Having said all this I wouldn’t say that the album is necessarily easy listening, nor is it perfect.
While the production is lush it sometimes sounds a bit muddy, probably because she’s erred on the side of over-production and sometimes as a result of the vocal filters that she’s used.
However, considering the overall quality and scope of the album, these criticisms are only minor.
Daddy’s Home is certainly not background music; Annie demands that you listen carefully and engage with the songs to get the most out of the album.
I liked the album on first listen but loved it the second time through.
The range of musical styles that Annie explores, or adopts, is staggering.
She really has crammed in an encyclopedia of musical influences, particularly from the 70’s, onto the disc.
The track, Down, is pure funk and Somebody Like Me starts as a fingerpicked folk song but transitions through a variety of modes before settling as an intricate and spacious ballad while the title track, Daddy’s Home, has a vaudeville feel.
Her homage to the ‘70s reaches its zenith in the track My Baby Wants A Baby which borrows heavily from the work of ELO.
I highly recommend this album, I think it’s her best release so far.
