Earlier this annum, St. Vincent’s Annie Clark unveiled All Born Screaming, a record that skillfully encapsulates the chaotic whirlwind of sentiments encompassing existence in 2024 through a concise 10 tracks over 42 minutes. This self-produced album is both raw, gritty, sensual, experimental, and amusing. It highlights Clark as an artist at her pinnacle, possessing full command.
This is why the announcement of her releasing a Spanish-language adaptation of the album, named Todos Nacen Gritando, is so thrilling. You see, St. Vincent speaks only un poquito de Español. “I studied Spanish in junior high and high school, and I mean Soy de Tejas, vivo en California,” she expressed in a recent phone chat playfully sprinkled with Spanish, (which worked as Spanish is my primary language). “However, I’ve always aspired to achieve fluency. Now I use Duolingo simply to maintain practice.” She collaborated with her closest friend and frequent partner-in-creation, Alan del Rio Ortiz, to translate the album, refining the wording to align with existing melodies, before re-recording each song. The outcome is exhilarating—Clark’s thick accent and occasional mispronunciation of words add to the album’s charm and significance. Here stands St. Vincent showing a fragile facet, engaging in a grandiose concept purely driven by her desire, and as an expression of affection and appreciation towards her Spanish-speaking audience in Latin America, Spain, and worldwide. “I contemplated the locales I most love to perform. I’ve encountered countless formative moments playing in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain,” she mentions. “It’s incredible to see people, for whom English isn’t the first language, singing along to every word. In many cases, English might be their second, third, or fourth language, who really knows? So I thought, if they are coming to me, why shouldn’t I attempt to reach out to them? And it served as a reason for me to initiate improving my Spanish towards eventual fluency.” Prior to the launch of “Pulga,” available today, St. Vincent discusses the album’s assemblage and how translations sometimes bestowed new significance to the tracks.