Allyson Ifergan | Staff Writer
Clairo’s latest album, “Charm” is a new lease on her sound, exponentially adding to the discussion of shaky beginning stages in passionate romance.
The release from last Friday is after the early release of her songs Nomad and Sexy to Someone. This album welcomes in a new lease on her sound, and adds to the conversation about beginning stages of romance.
Charm offers a soft, lush and cozy sound and maintains a similar feel to Sling, her previous album, by carrying over some folk elements very lightly. What stands out most is that this album features a new more soulful and jazzy side of Cottrill that reinvigorates the ears while sticking to a consistent sweet and mellow regimen.
Charm is just another example of how Clairo showcases her strengths in adapting and evolving as an artist by introducing new elements to her signature soft rock framework and gentle vocals. Although, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that any alterations made in this album feel too drastic.
I really enjoyed Nomad (my favorite), Thank You, Juna, Sexy to Someone, and Terrapin. I find a couple of these getting stuck in my head from time to time, and was pleasantly surprised at the array of instruments we typically wouldn’t expect to get from a typical Clairo record.
Lyrically it seems as though Clairo revisits themes of budding romance, love, and at times the hesitance that comes with that. She also has previously explored themes of the exploratory aspects of dating.
This one line in the chorus of Nomad, “I’d rather be alone than a stranger”, shares a very similar sentiment to one of her older songs, Bags, which also held a similar concern. That being said, I liked that she started with this song and then shifted towards a different message.
The opening and closing songs for the album carry a more folk essence to them. Nomad and Pier 4 specifically call to mind a particular lap steel guitar sound that’s slightly reminiscent of Wednesday and Phoebe Bridgers.
On the other hand, with Juna and Terrapin we were met with something so warm and jazzy (in comparison to her previous works) that it felt like Clairo capsulized the feeling of taking an afternoon nap in the sun. The whole album felt sleepy, but in a soothing way that plays with some elements of soul.
I genuinely liked the album although at times it felt like it was a bit void of something. There were a couple of moments while listening to the album I couldn’t help but to wish she leaned more into soulful elements vocally. I would’ve loved to see her experiment more with range and emotion, especially in Thank You.
I don’t really like rating things, but if this album was a sandwich I brought to the beach and ten pelicans tried to steal it I would probably fight like seven of them before throwing in the towel. [
Rating: 7/10
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