12 INTERVIEWS OF CHRISTMAS: St Vincent – on personal wounds, political protest, social media outrage and dad’s home

Last month saw art-pop superstar Annie Clark, aka St Vincent, return with her superb sixth album Dad is at home. Taking musical and aesthetic inspiration from 70s New York, it boasts elements of glam, disco and melancholic soul.

The album also touches on the release from prison of Clark’s father, a former stockbroker who spent a decade behind bars for his role in a stock-rigging scheme before being released on Christmas Day 2019.

Was this a subject that St. Vincent imagined he could write about?

“I had written about it, I just never got into the autobiographical part,” says the soft-spoken Clark, speaking on Zoom from LA. “After that, I was in the tabloids’ eye for a while, so that story was told, but I didn’t get to tell my story – it was kind of told about me. And it was treated as so obscene. It’s been over 10 years since it all went down, and the roles have changed.

“I was kind of maybe a kid when he came in, I’m definitely a dad now and things have turned around. If you want anything like a complete story about redemption, it’s that forgiveness can happen and there can be life after incarceration. But when I decided to give context to the title Dad is at homeI’m not looking for sympathy – I’m just telling it like it is.

“I have my own feelings about it, but it’s just a statement of ‘Yes, this happened.’

Notably, in a recent interview, the singer reflected on our current climate of moral puritanism, where social media anger abounds.

“Well, we live in scary times,” Annie says. “We’re economically insecure, there’s massive wealth disparities, there’s injustice, there’s inequality… It’s a human reaction to want some security when things feel like they’re in free fall.” But unfortunately—actually, I don’t know if it’s unfortunate, it’s just the way it is—life is really complicated. People are really complicated and power structures are really complicated.

“We can’t just say, ‘OK, here are the three acceptable narratives, and we have to either put people in those narratives, or we have to throw them in the garbage can and tear them apart limb by limb.’ But it’s also a situation where technology fuels outrage and vice versa. If we’re into that kind of social media, we’re really just Adam Curtis working all day – “If you like this, you’ll like this!”

“So on the one hand, I have a bird’s eye view of what it is and a lot of empathy for the fact that things are crazy and people are looking for answers. But on the other hand, I really want to make sure that like… I don’t know, the world is more interesting when you allow people to be flawed and human.”

As St. Vincent previously mentioned, she found herself the subject of comments not only for her music, but also for her personal life, most notably when she was in a relationship with model and actress Cara Delevingne from 2014 to ’16. The singer previously addressed the topic of social media overload in her hit “Digital Witness,” one of the most memorable songs of the last decade.

But with everyone constantly waiting for the next online fake controversy, how does St. Vincent, as a public figure, negotiate the industrial complex with hot profits?

“I try to be kind of logical, or compassionate, or have a bird’s eye view,” she says. “I try to be sympathetic – although sometimes it’s really hard! But there are times when you say to yourself, “Yes, I may have a vague opinion about something, but this is not a hill I’m going to die on.” I also think it’s important that people have the freedom to explore ideas.

“And there is an economy of ideas – some ideas are much better than others. Some philosophies cause more suffering than other philosophies. We need to be able to wrestle in the mud to figure out what the best idea is. But yes, there are times when I could light-heartedly joke about anything – because I’m a Texan – and like I said, it’s not a hill I want to die on.

“What I care about is being able to share the work I’m proud of with the world. I really don’t want to be the everyday pound of flesh.’

AMERICA DIVIDED

Does being a Texan give Annie insight into a divided America?

“Yes, absolutely,” she says. “You’ll probably never meet a Texan who isn’t somehow proud to be a Texan. Mentality is several things, isn’t it? I think there is a level of warmth and a level of civility.

“But yeah, I still live in Dallas part of the time and I’m surrounded by people who think Donald Trump is a good thing for the country or whatever. So I know it. The other thing is I really love America, I’ve been on every freeway in this fucking place! I have been to every state almost multiple times and feel so lucky to have been able to see this crazy country.

“So yeah, when I hear people just slandering people who live in quote-unquote overflowing states – come on!”

Apparently quite a few Los Angelinos have been fleeing the city for Texas lately, reversing the path that St. Vincent made.

“I know,” she said deadpan. “I hope they don’t spoil it! Mostly for Austin because it’s becoming such a tech hub. Looks like Tesla is still going down there, haven’t checked the latest. It’s a great place, it really is, I was there a few days ago.”

One of the most fascinating interviews I’ve done in recent years was with Lawrence Wright, the Pulitzer-winning author of The overhanging towerwhose 2018 book God bless Texas offered a fascinating cultural insight into his home country.

“Oh, I love it!” enthuses Annie. “I haven’t read The overhanging towerbut I have read his other books.’

A breathtaking account of the events leading up to 9/11 in both the United States and the Middle East, The overhanging tower ranks as the best non-fiction book I’ve ever read, so St. Vincent is in for a literary treat with this one.

“Oh,” she replies to the recommendation, “thank you!”

EXCEPTION OF HUMANITY

Socially and politically, of course, the last year has been an extremely tumultuous time in the US. Has that atmosphere fed into the new St Vincent album in any way?

“Well, I’m really into history,” says Annie. “I think humanity is so fascinating. That’s one of the reasons why if someone said, “We bought you a ticket, you’re going to Mars,” I’d be like, “No, I’m cool.” I could spend the rest of my life looking at people and trying to understand why we do the things we do.

“This record really focuses on music made in New York from 1971-76, a very specific time because — whether I knew it consciously or not at the time, or it just happened — it reminds me of the time i enter now. In the early 1970s, buildings were burned and the idealism of the flower children shattered.

“We were still in the Vietnam War, there was extreme economic uncertainty, and we were sifting through the rubble of some of the institutions of power — we were saying, ‘We don’t know what we’re going to build yet, but we’re measuring the rubble.’

The modern parallels are clear.

“I think so now,” Annie nods. “We’re in the midst of tearing down institutions of power, in some cases in a great way, and we’re trying to figure out where to go from here, but we don’t know yet. And it’s kind of unclear which faction will win power and carry it forward. Being in America has been quite a journey this past year, I mean it really has been.”

Certainly, since the killing of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter protests in the US have struck an extremely strong chord around the world.

“I’ve never seen such excitement from humanity in my life,” says Annie. “I’ve been involved in a number of protests around this and walking with those people who just said, ‘No, this has to stop’, it made me cry. I have never been part, even peripherally, of such a powerful movement. And America still has PTSD from a drunken father, so people are reeling.”

GORILLAZ, GROHL & McCARTNEY

Elsewhere in the past year, St Vincent appeared on ‘Chalk Tablet Towers’, a song by Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez by Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz. For good measure, her boyfriend Dave Grohl sat in on drums for her mesmerizing cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Piggy.”

Blur and Nirvana are my favorite rock bands, and with this set of collaborations, Clarke has provided an intriguing connection between the two.

“Oh my god, Blur are one of my favorite bands too,” she says. “Damon is such a cool writer – he can go off and sing madrigals and then come back and do screaming pop songs. Yes, I love Blur. And Gorillaz – I was really excited to even chat with those guys.

“And Dave Grohl is just a great dude, he’s everything you want him to be. Between that and starting to work with David Byrne… And I’ll tell you, Paul McCartney called me the other day!”

Really?

“I am serious!” Annie confirms. “I was just like, ‘I’m living in a dream.’ I did something right, I don’t know what it was. I don’t know where to put this – I don’t know where to put that a Beatle called me.

This is a whole other level.

“It really is. I had to laugh! I was driving in my car laughing in disbelief. It was like, ‘What?!’ to do things that are good.

During our interview, Annie was unable to offer any further details about McCartney’s reason for calling. However, a few weeks later it emerged that St Vincent was among the artists Macca had approached to remix songs McCartney III introduced, with Clark reworking Wives and Wives. The ubiquitous Albarn, meanwhile, reworked “Long Tailed Winter Bird.”

Turning to other topics, since Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey took place on the day of our chat, I ask St. Vincent if he plans to be involved.

“Can I be honest with you?” she says. “I’m sure they are wonderful people, but I have less than zero interest in the royal family. And if there was a way I could filter Google so I’d never read about them again, I’d have it. But there’s no animus—there’s just no part of me that cares.

“And also, it’s strange to me that Americans are so invested in this. I don’t know why that is. I think it goes back to the early days of the industrial barons here, when the lords of the manors of England didn’t have money, but they did have influence. And they would marry the daughters of American industrialists and get some money back.”

I have to admit that like many people, The crown rekindled my interest in palace intrigue. Did any movies or TV catch Annie’s interest during the lockdown?

“I was re-watching the Thomas Vinterberg film Hardshe notes. “So dark, I hadn’t seen it in ages. I remembered it was so great and watched it again and it still is. And I had missed a few Almodovar movies Juliet, so I went back and watched it. And I watched the whole new Adam Curtis documentary.

Given St. Vincent’s charismatic stage presence and Bowie-like ability for reinvention, I’m guessing she’s been asked to appear in a major HBO production at some point.

“Oh, that’s very kind of you to assume,” she laughs. “I’m not!”

Finally, in a previous interview with St. Vincent I asked her about her Irish roots. It goes without saying that we look forward to welcoming her home when live shows return.

“I miss her so much,” she says. “Homecoming is right!”

• Dad is at home is out now.

Read more of the 12 of Christmas interviews here.