Album Review: Clairo, Charm

Clairo - aka Claire Cottrill - has consistently placed an emphasis on intimacy, whether it be Immunity’s meek forays into the flush of new affairs or Sling’s faint ruminations on inner problemata. Her third album, Charm, extends an even warmer embrace by proxy of her hushful vocals and the focalising warmth of ‘70s sonics.

On opener ‘Nomad,’ her knack for delectable melodies engage a densely-populated host of trimmings: double bass elastics, arpeggiated guitars and a rolling Wurlitzer.

From there, she cuts wider, among the melodic foliage, to make way for the album’s suavely fertile soundscape. On such tracks as the aptly-titled ‘Second Nature’, she effortlessly drifts from key to key across woodwind vistas and Laurel Canyon contours.

At once, Charm spells a highly cohesive body of work that reveals itself gradually through a series of songs that peer out from oblique angles. As the album unfolds, a Motown-inspired flourish becomes clear, but Clairo isn’t veering toward Hitsville U.S.A.

Instead, she takes an unexpected, yet methodical, left turn facilitated by Charm co-producer Leon Michels, of El Michels Affair. At once, the DIY bedroom nuance she made her calling card wanes in the rearview mirror.

Bridging her instincts and interests, those gridded indie-pop threads juxtapose the untethered ‘70s R&B ambience, such that the differences in the texture give rise to something new and entirely the artist’s own.

The verdict? It’s a masterclass in sonic speciation. It’s Clairo at her most authentic and evolved. Indeed, third time’s the charm.

Charm Album Artwork. Photography by CJ Harvey