Daddy’s Home (2021) – St. Vincent

Loma Vista, 2021

St. Vincent teams up with super producer Jack Antonoff to create a ‘70s infused record that despite diverting from the sounds of her past records, comes out as a sonically pleasing and effective homage to the era of its inspiration. St. Vincent trades the booming electropop synth anthems and subtle piano ballads of Masseduction for swirling sitars and psychedelic orchestral arrangements.

This is in full effect on “Live In The Dream” where St. Vincent sings about the false sense of security of the dreamscape as a metaphor for the perils of getting lost in the illusion of fame. She does this over a crescendoing and building psychedelia that culminates with a guitar passage only fit for a fantasy world, before slowly coming back down the mountain. The metaphoric songwriting and the beautiful production come together to form my favourite track off Daddy’s Home.

While Daddy’s Home mostly moves away from Masseduction’s sound, there are hints of electropop on the record in “Down” where St. Vincent lays down a super catchy sitar riff in the hook. The groovy and anthemic vibe of the song is fitting for the song’s theme of revenge. While “Live In The Dream” features the best build up of instrumentation on the record, “Down” puts things together all at once in the hook very effectively for a standout dancy track. Placed around the midpoint of the record, “Down” serves as a sonic checkpoint for the record. It’s a loud and fun pop song that ushers away the psychedelic guitars, sitars, and Wurlitzers in preparation for the much more soft and melodic tail end of the record. Instead of having psychedelic instrumentation as the backbone of the track, “Down” uses it as a garnish.

The tail end of the record begins with “Somebody Like Me”—a sentimental piece on Annie Clark’s perspective on romance and her own insecurities about having someone love her. It ends with a guitar sequence that makes you think of the “Piano Exit” on Derek and the Dominos’ 1970 hit “Layla”.

We then move onto the most poetic track of the record with “My Baby Wants A Baby”. This track interpolates Sheena Easton’s 1980 hit “9 to 5 (Morning Train)”, but almost has an inverse meaning in its lyrics. While Sheena Easton sings about her devotion to her lover, St. Vincent sings about her devotion to herself and her legacy. On “My Baby Wants A Baby”, St. Vincent wonders how she can have a lasting and impactful legacy as a mother if a mother’s life revolves around her child. Similarly, Sheena Easton’s lover is amazing and he could do no wrong, but the realization St. Vincent’s lover wants a baby is revolting.

“…At The Holiday Party” brings a fun and lowkey ‘70s rock aesthetic with lyrics about misery and loneliness hiding in plain sight. Another track that features a duality of emotions and feelings. To cap things off, “Candy Darling” sees the friendly tones of the sitar return to accompany a very mellow, short, and sweet closer.

Thematically, “Daddy’s Home” is very clear and straightforward. It’s a record about being unsure about yourself, the perils of fame, and legacy—both legacy affecting St. Vincent (like her father’s), and also her own legacy affecting others. Sonically, the record hits the notes of its inspiration effectively for the most part. Psychedelic sitars and guitars, subtle piano melodies, and soft drum patterns. Oddly enough, the sonic gamble doesn’t work out on the first single off the record, “Pay Your Way In Pain”. It just sounds off and doesn’t fit the vibe of the rest of the record. The other single, “The Melting Of The Sun” is a decent track, but St. Vincent’s vocals seem to be hidden away in the instrumentation.

“Daddy’s Home” is a very enjoyable record that plucks on the sitar strings of nostalgia to accompany St. Vincent’s very personal lyrics of modern day fame and personal experiences like her father’s release from prison in 2019. Though St. Vincent takes a leap in moving away from the sound of Masseduction and other previous works, she hits a bullseye on most of her shots and if not, at the very least hits the target.

Favourite tracks: Live In The Dream, The Melting Of The Sun, Down, Somebody Like Me, My Baby Wants A Baby, …At The Holiday Party