St. Vincent shares “Teenage Talk” on latest ‘Girls’ episode

Girls has a reputation for being astute when it comes to the music that plays over final credits, and its 3/8/15 episode “Tad & Loreen & Avi & Shanaz” is no exception. After main character Hannah is given some bombshell news by her mom, her expression of confusion and fear cuts to an unreleased St. Vincent b-side called “Teenage Talk”. Annie Clark and Girls creator Lena Dunham are friends, and the show’s music supervisor reached out to Clark’s team, who had this unused demo lying around. Besides Clark’s pensive, honeyed voice, the 90s alt-synths and stuttering drums are immediate St. Vincent tip-offs. The song is way too short – as with most things surrounding this fabulously talented artist, we’ll never have enough.

In the track St. Vincent looks back on the past, specifically the generally overrated period of teenagerdom. Her sad and reflective lyrics (“I don’t think the past is better, better / Just cause it’s cased in glass / Protecting us from our now and later”) make the song sound like an update to Vanessa Carlton’s “White Houses”. Clark closes out “Teenage Talk” by wondering what her former beau thinks of her now. As is her wont, she uses esoteric imagery to get to the relatable heart of heartbreak.

An official version hasn’t yet been released, but fortunately a high-quality stream has been circulating around Tumblr. It’s that or deal with the monstrosity that is HBO Go, so choose wisely.