St. Vincent – “Pay Your Way In Pain”

St. Vincent – “Pay Your Way In Pain”

For the past couple months, Annie Clark has been talking about a new St. Vincent album. Back in December, she teased a big sonic shift, towards warmer ’70s sounds inspired by albums by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Sly & The Family Stone. Things picked up in the past week, with ’70s-styled ads appearing, more details from Clark, and just a few days ago she was gearing up to drop a single called “Pay Your Way In Pain.” Today it’s official: Daddy’s Home, the sixth St. Vincent album, will be out in May.

As Clark has discussed, the title is inspired by her father’s release from prison after being incarcerated in 2010. Apparently that led her, too, home in some fashion — it inspired her dive back into the ’70s albums she grew up on, which in turn led to the whole sleazy ’70s NYC aesthetic of the album. “Daddy’s Home collects stories of being down and out in downtown NYC,” Clark said in a statement. “Last night’s heels on the morning train. Glamour that’s been up for three days straight.”

Clark produced the album alongside Jack Antonoff. They’ve also finally shared “Pay Your Way In Pain.” The song comes with a video directed by Bill Benz, who also directed The Nowhere Inn, the forthcoming movie written by Clark and Carrie Brownstein. While the clip dives right into the ’70s atmosphere that inspired Daddy’s Home, the song isn’t quite as retro as we might’ve expected. It’s still built on some stabbing, slithering St. Vincent synths, but there are hints of coke-fueled funk too. It’s sort of like Young Americans put through the St. Vincent filter. Check it out below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Pay Your Way In Pain”
02 “Down And Out Downtown”
03 “Daddy’s Home”
04 “Live In The Dream”
05 “The Melting Of The Sun”
06 “The Laughing Man”
07 “Down”
08 “Somebody Like Me”
09 “My Baby Wants A Baby”
10 “…At The Holiday Party”
11 “Candy Darling”

Daddy’s Home is out 5/14 via Loma Vista. Pre-order it here.

Zackery Michael

more from New Music