Having released a new single, "New York," (which she recently discussed on the Song Exploder podcast), St. Vincent is gearing up to an as-yet-unannounced album release, for an as-yet-untitled LP, her fifth. She was recently interviewed by The Guardian about that process, where she spoke about how writing makes sense in her mind. But this is Annie Clark: she'd never do anything as basic as say, 'yup, this is a record about that time I dated model Cara Delevingne'. That didn't stop her broaching the subject, more broadly, of what's like to date someone who's reached that level of fame.On that topic, and how it has influenced her outlook, she said:
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She also added that "people's art sometimes suffers when they get into that too-big-to-fail mindset," (and, therefore, enjoys her own 'being-sent-a-free-starter-at-a-restaurant' level of fame), and discussed the assumption that the breakup might have influenced her songwriting. Though she doesn't deny it as something that affected her process, she also rightly pointed out the connotations this has when you're a woman:Having been, y'know, fame adjacent… That in and of itself seems very hectic to me. If it's a natural byproduct of doing what it is you love? Then great. But there are certain levels of fame that I've seen, just by proxy, that are unenviable.
So rather than offer up the gossipy tidbits that tabloids might want, she spoke about being in the final stages of finalising the album. Namely, that she's "completely monastic. Sober, celibate – full nun" (though not before adding that "there are always sex plans," which, fair play). We'll all just have to wait until the album's ready and out to fully understand the story she's ready to tell. For now, we just know that she believes her whole life is in this record." And if nothing else, isn't the release of a new St Vincent record in this hellfire of a 2017, something to look forward to?"Follow Lauren on Twitter.I don't love it when musicians speak about their records being 'diaries' or 'therapy. It removes that level of deep instinct and imagination that is necessary in order to make something that transcends. The assumption from the culture at large is that women only know how to write things autobiographically, or diaristically, which is a sexist way of implying that they lack imagination.