Album of the Week: Clairo – Charm
This week sees American singer-songwriter Clairo release her third studio album, Charm.
Clairo (Claire Cottrill) rose to fame posting covers to YouTube as a teenager and went on to release her debut album Immunity in 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. Cottrill followed up the success of her debut with 2021’s Sling, on which she worked with producer-du-jour Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lorde, St Vincent, Lana Del Rey), crafting an album of subdued yet faithful odes to the sound of classic 70s singer-songwriter records. Aged just 21 at the time of Sling’s release, the album marked a mature side step from the ethereal yet punchy bedroom-pop of Immunity highlights Bags, Alewife, Sofia and Softly. Sling is a very good record, however at times some of its backward looking, retro obsession perhaps felt a bit too much and perhaps the tracks were a little weighed down by the tribute exercise.
New album Charm doesn’t stray that far from the Sling template as Cottrill again calls to mind the vintage feel of albums by Joni Mitchell, The Carpenters, Carole King, etc but the choice to collaborate with producer Leon Michels proves to be a savvy decision. Michels, known for his work with the soul-jazz group The El Michels Affair brings an all together different vibe to Charm. The album exudes a breeziness, a lightness and joyful cohesiveness that was lacking in much of its predecessor. Working alongside Michels, Cottrill doubles down on the jazz inflections that appeared on Sling, and introduces yet more piano, flutes, trumpets, vibraphone, Wurlitzer, synths and mellotron. Each track on Charm is rendered with intricacy and attention to detail, bringing Cottrill’s delicate, introverted songs to life with the warmth one would expect from the all analog recording process.
Charm’s quietest moments, including opening track and promo single Nomadare granted a spaciousness in which to unfurl and blossom, rather than linger or drag. Nomad’s subtle build of slide and finger picked guitars sway and glisten amongst the hushed percussion, the tracks chorus arriving as a smooth, ecstatic release. The excellent one-two of Second Nature and Slow Dancedisplay some of Charm’s most interesting arrangements and song progressions, both are evocative of the sort of whimsical, chamber-pop Paul McCartney perfected between 1965-1968. The bubbling, bouncy mellotron that punctuates Slow Dance’s chorus is a particular delight. Both Terrapin and Juna, with their flurries of piano and patient groove building rhythms employ a distinct soft-rock palette with jazz inflections, evoking the supreme 70s work of Steely Dan and later, Rickie Lee Jones. The closing build of saxophone, trumpet and synths brings Juna to a classy, graceful conclusion.
Michels’ soul-jazz background truly shines on the loner longing of lead single Sexy To Someone, which contrary to the pining of its lyrical themes is one of the funkiest, poppiest and all-round stunning tracks Cottrill has written. The swells of mellotron, stabbing piano and the low-end hip-hop groove are genuinely infectious, demanding multiple re-listens. Likewise Add Up My Loveis thrilling, and Cottrill’s early R&B and hip hop influences come to the fore in the coolness and assuredness of her swift vocal delivery atop the track’s summery concoction of shimmering synths, flutes and propulsive percussion. Echo offers something genuinely different for Cottrill, her vocal is decidedly detached, more hushed than before and surrounded by ghostly, psychedelic washes of synth and organ coupled with the retro 60s pop production comes off sounding not too dissimilar to The Noise Made By People era Broadcast, or the enigmatic chic of Francoise Hardy.
In a lot of ways Charm is the album that Sling could have been. Michels and the band that accompany Cottrill on this superb collection of songs imbue each of the tracks with a unifying elegance that carries over from one track to the next and the tightness of their playing recalls famous backing bands The Wrecking Crew and the Muscle Shoals session players. Frequently, big low-end bass kicks hit with the looseness of a hip hop record and you could envisage some of these jazzy instrumental passages as samples and loops utilised by Q-Tip, Madlib, Dilla, et al. Presumably the hazy, wonky rhythms employed by such producers were influential here. Given all this, it’s not surprising that Charm is also Clairo’s most soulful release to date, and the low key confidence with which she delivers her vocals belies her 25 years.
Unlike the work of many of her contemporaries, Charm doesn’t rely upon surprise or bombast . Nothing on Charm comes with a shock, or veers far from its playful template. While that may seem like a criticism, on the contrary, it is what gives the album such a defined vibe. In a pop world where most things seem made for instant consumption and immediate gratification, it is refreshing that Charm is something that is determined to burn slower. Its vibe is something that will slowly envelop you, the scent of its ashes inhabiting the atmosphere long after the initial flame has burnt out.
Clairo – Charm is out now on Indies Exclusive Purple Vinyl, Standard Black Vinyl & CD.
