Clairo Claims Her Confidence on Third Album ‘Charm’

I saw Clairo live for the first time in 2019. I didn’t know many of her songs at the time (she only had a handful back then), but I knew that she was up-and-coming and widely beloved online. During her set at Lollapalooza Chile that day, she played her then-unreleased single “Bags,” which set a completely different tone from her hits “Pretty Girl” and “4EVER”, and showed that she was growing up as a person and as an artist, and she was therefore on a mission to make sure everybody knew that.

With the release of her debut album Immunity, a record that I still hold very dearly to my heart, Claire Cottrill established herself as one of music’s favorite indie darlings, delivering extremely heartfelt and vulnerable songs at only twenty-years-old. With the success and brilliance of that album, though, came a lot of expectation, which catapulted me at least into perceiving her sophomore project Sling as a bit of a letdown. It was beautifully produced and written, but it was just not a record that I have returned to very often. I understood and appreciated that it was Claire’s way of proving to the world that she was a real, serious musician—which I actually never doubted—but it also felt too far from what had made me love her.

This time around though, Charm seems to be a good in between what she always naturally seemed to be: a fun, melodic and minimalistic indie girl, and what she always meant to become: a powerful, experimental artist and composer. It feels to me like she did this fully for herself, not for the expectations, not for the recognition, but to share exactly how she was feeling at the moment. Leaning into a more jazzy sound, and expressing throughout most tracks a sense of solitude and loneliness, she manages to make the songs feel witty enough while remaining truthful and earnest, all while delivering some of her best instrumentals to date.

The record’s lead single, “Sexy to Someone” was an incredible way for Clairo to make a comeback and to introduce what was about to come. It’s a flirty, groovy song about wanting to feel desired and seen as a sexual being. As someone that’s had her own share of body image conflicts, feeling sexy has always been a sort of abstract idea to me, and to imagine someone else seeing me as such is just as confusing. But it’s also something that I kind of always expected to happen naturally at some point, just like Claire describes in the song. “Nothin’ more, nothin’ less of thought, walkin’ through the park”. On the other hand, the following single “Nomad,” fell more into Sling territory than the first, but still stepped away by bringing in a new energy that left some of the strong folky influence in the previous album, and even the lyrics talk about leaving behind all that you’re used to.

There’s two songs in Charm that definitely stand out for me: “Second Nature” and “Add Up My Love”. As someone that naturally craves more upbeat and/or loud music, these two won my heart. The cheeky energy of “Second Nature” is charming, as the little laugh over the instrumental perfectly transmits. The other first two tracks in the album refer mostly to being single and feeling lonely, while “Second Nature” addresses a new crush and all the exciting and silly feelings that come with it, a fun contrast already at the beginning of the album. “Add Up My Love” is probably the most similar to “Sexy to Someone” and I truly think it would work great as a single too. It’s catchy and fun to sing, and brings out a sort of liveliness to the record that only a couple other songs can evoke.

“Slow Dance” and “Thank You” seem to be two good transitional songs from the Sling phase to this one. The production and instrumentals remind me a little bit of that in songs like “Amoeba” and “Bambi” but they also start to show some of the more spontaneous and eccentric melodies and touches. Claire’s voice sounds to almost be just accompanying the music at times, which might be a little unexpected but it also allows us to really listen to the song in its entirety. “Thank You” also talks about a new and compelling concept; Clairo sings: “when you’re lonely, you’ll just do anything” and “I really hate to admit it, I put my pride on the line” and then proceeds to thank that casual lover for entertaining her needs for a while. It’s a bold and original concept, and the lyrics are perfectly raw and relatable.

“Terrapin,” and “Juna” both dive into the jazz sound in a more drastic way; “Terrapin” in particular feels like it was solely written to be played at a live show, when the band introduce themselves and get a few seconds to showcase their insane skills. Musically “Juna” sounds almost like a continuation of the first, and they both work as a sort of intermission of the album where it’s more vibes than anything.

Once we’re approaching the end of the record, we’re taken fully up and fully down in a matter of about six minutes, summarizing all the emotions that Charm has shown us already. “Glory of the Snow” is cheery and fun, as Claire sings about the fuzzy feelings of going back to a former flame, someone that makes everything feel familiar and easy, but this time being able to feel excited about it again. It’s a cute and more upbeat track, and probably one of my favorites in the album, but it’s immediately followed by another one that has quite devastating lyrics. “Pier 4” is a quiet and acoustic ballad that sings a truly depressing tale in an almost adorable melody. “What’s the cost of it, of being loved? When close is not close enough.”

Clairo reminisces on being young and going through the motions for the first time, and acknowledges how desolating it can be to think back to the times where you had no idea what the outcome would be.

Clairo’s approach and songwriting is wonderful as always, but clearly more mature than even before. After her first attempt at reinventing herself with Sling, this time, she sounds so much more confident in her own voice and words, like now she trusts herself and nothing else is relevant to the process.

As she progresses as a woman and an artist, the 25-year-old is documenting her experiences in a sincere way, and delivering with the tone of someone that knows that this is just how it goes for everybody else, too. She’s found her voice and her space in the music sphere and is just using both to share her story in the realest and prettiest way. Third time’s a charm.

Charm is out now.