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.
