Daddy's Home

by St. Vincent

Released May 14, 2021 via Loma Vista Recordings

Reviewed May 25, 2021

Top tracks (based on community voting)

The Melting Of the Sun (52%), Pay Your Way In Pain (42%), Daddy’s Home (39%)

One of pop’s most textured and multi-complexioned albums of the year has arrived in the form of St. Vincent’s eclectic sixth studio album, Daddy’s Home. In a successful attempt at pushing forward toward new frontiers, the Dallas songstress sends herself backward, illustrating a clear affinity for the rock, country, pop, and soul sounds of 70s and early 80s. The album consistently offers something challenging, or quaint, and each song stands to contrast the others beside it. Songs on Daddy’s Home also tend to commence in quirky or abrupt fashion, at first making for an unsettling first listen. Despite this, songs on the album consistently build into a satisfying and conclusive endgame, making subsequent listens of this album both intriguing and rewarding. – DeVán (7.5/10)

Daddy's Home is, for lack of a better term, home to the familiar sounds of some of the biggest names in the music world. An amalgamation of pop etiquette awaits the listener as St. Vincent clearly wears her influences on her sleeve. The warped tendencies of Peter Gabriel, the vigour and tenacity of Prince, and the atmospheric touch of Pink Floyd—shimmering keyboard qualities akin to Richard Wright are especially prominent on “Live In The Dream”—are dispersed throughout the record's runtime. Wearing your influences never fails to conjure up a bag of tasteful treats. Pushing the envelope in the sonic sphere isn't always the best way to go about producing material, though it is quite a noble undertaking. Start with what you know and incrementally step forward. Daddy's Home is a masterclass in melding the past together to produce a contemporary work. – Peter (7.5/10)

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist St. Vincent’s sixth studio album is a stark departure from her previous works. Swapping out her typical art pop stylings for a nostalgia-tinged psychedelic soul sound, Daddy’s Home sees Annie Clark working heavily with Jack Antonoff—who recently helped artists like Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift indulge in similar stylistic shifts. While there’s nothing particularly bad about Daddy’s Home, there isn’t much great about it either; the production is rich, lush, and sensual, but its attempts at homage feel more derivative than they do fresh. The songwriting operates on a similar level; while maybe not a clear regression, her lyrics lack the personality and intrigue that’s expected from one of pop’s most innovative artists of the last decade. It has its moments, but Daddy’s Home is more of a slog than the thoroughly invigorating works of previous years. – Dominick (6.5/10)