Photo: Clairo
It’s interesting to hear someone found their sound after they’ve already become famous. American musician Clairo is 25, and a bonafide hitmaker, after releasing three albums with streams in the hundreds of millions, and an aesthetic that’s still shifting.
Initial success came via some lo-fi bedroom pop singles. Her 2019 debut album had elements of contemporary dance, pop and trap, but its follow-up showed more of a sixties pop aesthetic. ‘Soft-rock’ is a term that’s often applied, and still fits on her third release, but now it’s joined by an undercurrent of soul, and rhythmic charge.
Accusations of being an ‘industry plant’ came early on in Clairo’s career. She had some viral success on YouTube in 2017 with her song ‘Pretty Girl’, which led to internet researchers identifying her dad as a prominent marketing executive. A few publications claimed he’d facilitated the record deal.
She initially dismissed the criticism, then in 2021 told Rolling Stone she knew things had been easier for her than most. She’d also been recording and uploading music since she was 13.
There’s a unified aesthetic to this third album Charm, of songs not afraid to be understated. In fact that seems to be the goal.
After working with Jack Antonoff on her last release - who’s helmed records with Lorde and Taylor Swift - Clairo teamed with soul revivalist Leon Michels for this album. To give some idea of his pedigree, he’s a founding member of Sharon Jones’ band the Dap Kings, and Lee Field’s band The Expressions. He also founded El Michels Affair, a cinematic soul group known for collaborating with hip hop musicians.
The band on Charm was rounded out by musicians who’ve also come from soul, as well as jazz and funk, including two members of the Dap Kings. Most tracks include writing credits for their contributions alongside Michels and Clairo.
The effect that has on Clairo’s songs isn’t transformative, but it does give each a nudge in a certain direction, as does Michel’s focus on kick thump, and rhythmic accents.
The percussive touches on that song, ‘Juna’, as well as Marco Benevento cascading piano runs, are soulful elements that are a new part of the Clairo sound.
Charm is a highly inoffensive collection. Her voice never rises, (in contrast to earlier work), staying confined to a controlled whisper. The whole project feels tightly controlled, in fact, and always tasteful.
Clairo’s stream count alone marks her as a pop musician, but it feels off to label her that, maybe just because these songs are so introverted, and pop tends to be the opposite. There’s also a complete lack of the self-mythologising that defines a lot of modern pop.
The album is also an independent release, and maybe that independence is what gave her the confidence to burrow into her own distinct, laidback style, and really find her voice.
