St. Vincent shares funk-infused new track ‘Big Time Nothing’
It’s officially St Vincent’s album release week. As the follow-up to her 2021 record Daddy’s Home, her latest offering, All Born Screaming, has been long-awaited. Sharing the final teaser before it arrives, ‘Big Time Nothing’ is a swaggering taste of great things to come.
Following the previous singles, ‘Flea’ and ‘Broken Man’, ‘Big Time Nothing’ feels like a real return to form for the artist. For this release, St Vincent, or Annie Clark, has regained the reigns of her production as well as writing and performing. All three tracks so far embody the same dark and seductive energy, including layered instrumental details and weaving bass and guitar lines.
On ‘Big Time Nothing’, that’s met with a funkier element. As more spoken word voices give way to a hooking chorus, the bass line kicks in and grabs your attention. There’s a distinct Prince inspiration to this song, reminiscent of his Controversy era as Clark’s signature guitar riffs are nestled in a dynamic composition. St Vincent actually took on the track, ‘Controversy’ for Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince. As a major fan and admirer of the late artist, his impact is certainly heard on this new track.
The concept of musical glitching is also resplendent on the track, demonstrating how she is clearly brimming with ideas. However, the flip side of that is that the song is also rather hectic and jarring. It might have a solid hook, but it isn’t the easiest effort to consume.
Really, with each new taster, the upcoming record is looking better and better. This latest track is co-written by Cate Le Bon who is just one of the powerful collaborators on the album. ‘Flea’ features a drum performance from Dave Grohl, while the rest of the album is made with helping hands from the likes of Rachel Eckroth, Josh Freese, Mark Guiliana, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Stella Mogzawa and David Ralicke.
Alongside the release of the album, St Vincent has also announced a tour. She’s planning to celebrate the record and bring these songs to stages all around the UK and Europe. Kicking it off in Bristol, she’s then playing a special date at London’s gorgeous Royal Albert Hall on June 1st. Also heading to Luxembourg, Belgium and some select festival appearances in the Netherlands and Denmark, it seems like these new songs will sound huge with her live set-up.
As the full album arrives on April 26th, our ears are certainly pricked and excited to hear more. This feels like the most exciting and interesting output St Vincent has offered up in a while, proving that if you want a job done well, sometimes you have to do it yourself.
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