9/10

When progressive artist Annie Clark aka St. Vincent released her 2017 album 'Masseduction', it felt like a watershed moment for her. After building a broad and diverse sound on her previous offerings, she had finally brought all those eclectic ideas together to form a world-building and distinct direction that pulled her to the forefront of so many people's minds. Now after a few years to figure out her next steps, she has returned to release her sixth studio effort 'Daddy's Home', a record that comes across as a clash of her most forward-thinking work and her close knit influences.

Working this time with producer-of-the-moment Jack Antonoff, the pair have chosen to focus the sound of this full-length in a 1970s guise, giving it this retro yet contemporary aesthetic from start to finish. Almost as if they are reinventing the sounds of that decade through a St. Vincent lens, this wonderfully adventurous collection is more about showing off her dexterity as an artist than anything else. Stripping back the more outlandish electronics she is known for, in exchange for something more organic throughout, it has this warped and woozy direction that is just simply irresistible.

We knew that something great was on the horizon thanks to some truly mesmerising preview singles, but 'Daddy's Home' exceeds our expectations entirely. She has never been one to do things by halves, and this new album shows her as not only a proficient and captivating name on the scene, but one that is more than happy to rip up her own rulebook in pursuit of something more intriguing.