St. Vincent – Daddy’s Home
Alternative – Released May 14, 2021 – 14 songs, 43 mins
LUNDI’s album drop:
Reid ruined drop by waking up and announcing all new music released today in group chat (J Cole, Black Keys, St. Vincent and Nicki Minaj). Lundi reluctantly noted his battleship was sunk and St.V is his choice. Reid dropped 5 full friend points.
REID
Happy with Lundi’s selection this week. St. Vincent’s first release was in 2007 but she didn’t gain mainstream attention until her self-titled release in 2014. At least that’s what I’m told. I saw her at Osheaga in 2015 with my too sweet review companions as Lundi was a fan. At that time, I was super amused/confused by her strange guitar ‘dance’. Nothing about the performance really drew me in so when I threw on Daddy’s Home two weeks ago, it was the first time I had really given her a shot. Let’s get into it.
I’m going to start off by saying I don’t understand the appeal of the sitar (middle eastern guitar). St. Vincent uses it frequently in Daddy’s Home and it was an overwhelming negative for me. Pay Your Way in Pain and the title track are both annoyingly bad. I enjoy the cool pace of Down and Out Downtown but then she hits me with the sitar. Live in the Dream, The Melting of the Sun and The Laughing Man have moments I enjoy but nothing that moves the needle. With Down I finally felt some of that funky groove I was hearing about. And then boom, sitar in the chorus. I can overlook it a little on this one because the rest of the song is cool. (Shout out to Hockey Night in Canada who have been playing it on their NHL broadcasts throughout the playoffs). The beginning of Somebody Like Me reminds me of Toulumne by Eddie Vedder and is a good song overall. It’s runner up to …At The Holiday Party as my favourite. I enjoy these two because there’s no sitar, no weird screaming, just good music and her strong voice.
Me and Lundi have pretty similar interests in music so I had to give her self-titled album a shot. While I didn’t play it as often as Daddy’s Home, I did enough to conclude it’s a much stronger album. St. Vincent shows plenty of promise but the direction she chose on Daddy’s Home just didn’t do it for me.
Overall Rating – 4.5/10
Favourite Song – …At the Holiday Party
ROZ
The year is 2015. My good friend Steve Lundrigan introduces me to a woman that goes by the name St. Vincent in preparation for our trip to Montreal, where she is playing at the Osheaga Music and Arts festival. She has a great voice, he says. She can play the guitar really well, he says. Fast forward to her on stage, and we’re halfway through her set - where is her guitar? Has everything I’ve heard been a lie? Clearly she cannot play guitar, and it is all done by studio musicians. Lundi and I have a back and forth about this, and I have never been more confident about a take in my life. But who is really right? With a smug look on my face I turn forward towards the stage one more time....
But I digress.
Pay Your Way In Pain starts Daddy’s Home off strong with it’s interesting groove and crunchy bass synth. I really enjoy the vocal effects used throughout this track (as well as many others) which seems to consist of various flangers and stutter techniques. The lyrics unfortunately gave me flashbacks to Foo Fighters “Shame Shame”, a weak song on a weaker album (sorry again Dave). Down And Out Downtown came next and mesmerized me with it’s slow drum breaks and incorporated an instrument I rarely hear in western music, the sitar (a type of guitar originating in India). While initially very interesting, I soon realized that the sitar was almost overused, showing up in Live In The Dream, The Melting Of The Sun, Down, and well, you get the idea. TMDS- too much damn sitar. Otherwise, I really did enjoy The Melting Of The Sun and it ended up being my favorite song on the album. Candy Darling came in second place for me and would have won if it was a bit longer and had a few additional elements (a guitar solo would have been killer here), one of those tracks that just seems to be missing something.
This album definitely had a cool aesthetic. Here I am, in a smokey jazz bar in 1980’s New York City. The album is chock full of style, from its brass arrangements to its slow drum breaks, from its funky guitar licks to its psychedelic vocal effects throughout. There are three interludes that put the record almost underwater, as if you’re in a bathroom washing your hands while St. Vincent pours her soul out on stage (maybe pouring out a bit too much at times, as her guttural screams ruined the titular track Daddy’s Home for me). Soul is the key word here, especially after finding out that this album is inspired by her father getting out of jail after spending a decade there for fraud. Sheesh.
I hate to do this, but I just couldn’t stop drawing parallels between Daddy’s Home and Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, which we reviewed a little while ago. The jazz lounge styled atmosphere along with the swooning vocal, bellowing brass instruments and slow drums breaks; it kept taking me back to Amy. In saying this, let’s be honest - this album isn’t as good as Back to Black, and I have to rate it accordingly. How about a fun prediction? Judging by Lundi’s review of B2B I’d say we’ll get a good number from him (8 or higher) and Reid’s will be close to mine or less. I’d bet money on it.
Speaking of bets, I’m sure you’re looking for closure. Yes, she broke out her guitar on that warm August day in 2015, and yes she fucking shred it to pieces. Lundi was very right and I was very, very wrong. As a cherry on top, she did a goofy-ass chicken dance with her guitar up and down the stage - she may as well have chickened dance over my soul. God damnit.
Overall Rating – 6.1/10
Favourite Song – The Melting of the Sun
LUNDI
*Inserts shuffle dance gif* ... guess I’m gonna have to stop making inside jokes since we’re online now:
Damn. Anywayyyyy on to the review.
St. Vincent once again shakes up her style on Daddy’s Home taking listeners back to the 70’s with the retro vibes throughout. Ms Annie Clark once again proves her skill set is wide and she has the unique ability to push boundaries in the music industry.
At first, I didn’t think this album was even slightly good but the more listening I did the more I began to pick up on what makes it great. The subtle guitar riffs and jazzy elements began to catch my ear as they pair perfectly with her silky voice. The album is smooth throughout, groovy where it needs to be, and has a weirdly sexual energy pairing perfectly with the album title.
The album does well to be consistent throughout. Even it’s low moments, albeit rare, are surrounded by the highs. Kicking off with the electric track Pay Your Way in Pain the album hooks you all the way through to standout track Down. Slowing down in the back end but never losing focus, this album also never loses the listener. Even useless interludes can’t get me down on this one.
I expect that many will brush this album off on first listen but St. Vincent deserves so much more. This album will most definitely be near the top of year end lists but you should pay attention now.
Overall Rating – 8.5/10
Favourite Song – Down