“Del Rio,” the new single by indie pop artist St. Vincent, has a raw, grainy, leaked type of feel to it. Accompanied by a makeshift video, capturing one continuous shot of a turntable playing the 45 vinyl version of the song, which is intriguing to say the least. Originally featured as a b-side on the European single version of “Digital Witness,” the first song made available for streaming off the self titled album, also appears on the Japanese edition, which was released on Feb 25.
“Del Rio,” is less lyrical, yet catchier than “Prince Johnny,” the last single which appeared on mxdwn to promote the release of St. Vincent, the first album since 2011’s Strange Mercy. The track’s texture is sustained by a grainy saw synth sound, thick backing bass and organ over a steady drum beat. Upbeat and danceable, with Madonna-esque vocals on the chorus, “Del Rio,” has a slick production sound which halts at times to add a touch of break beat, then plays out to a sweet melodic guitar riff.
Also known as Annie Clark, St. Vincent is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who will begin touring Europe and North America from February to April. She will then follow that with an appearance at Toronto’s NXNE Festival in June. Since making the audio for “Digital Witness,” available to her fans, St. Vincent has made a slick, colorful, stylized, somewhat robotic video to go with it. Filled with dramatic pans, slow zooms, marching, shapes, and bright solid colors, the video seems to match St. Vincent’s persona well.
Opening for such bands as Arcade Fire, Death Cab for Cutie and Xiu Xiu,Clark worked with Bon Iver on the song “Roslyn,” which appeared on the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: New Moon and has recently collaborated with Swan on their latest album, To Be Kind, which will drop in may.