Featuring 11 entrancing tracks, Clairo’s third studio album “Charm” takes audiences on a voyage of self-reflection, love and yearning
For those of us not quite sassy enough to channel our inner Brat summer, singer and songwriter Claire Cottrill, also known as Clairo has come to the rescue.
The queen of bedroom pop charmed audiences with her soft and dreamy third studio album “Charm,” released July 12.
The album features 11 whimsical tracks using instruments such as the mellotron, synthesizer, flute, saxophone, trumpet, piano and organ. “Charm” intimately captures the essence of love and lust in your twenties through Clairo’s distinct and ethereal vocals.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Cottrill expressed that she’d been sitting on the word “charm” for three years, collecting words and aesthetics in a notebook she thought fit under the category.
“To me, charm is the moment when two people meet, and they have separate life experiences, all their own stories and feelings, and then they tell each other the first layer,” Cotrill said in the interview. “There’s this beautiful haze and buzz when you’re still imagining the rest of it. That feeling is so good.”
Her opening tracks “Nomad” and “Sexy to Someone” explore ideas of wanting to be desired, a feeling anyone can relate to wholeheartedly. In “Nomad,” we see the singer struggling to let herself open up, inevitably choosing loneliness over the possibility of getting hurt, in an attempt to self-preserve.
“Sexy to Someone,” the first single Cottrill released for the album, is a warm and groovy tune with an undertone of yearning and the desire to be perceived as sexy. She begs the question: “I want to be sexy to someone, is it too much to ask?”
“Second Nature,” the third track on the album, has some of my favorite lyrics. Cottrill playfully describes falling for someone, to the point of it becoming so familiar and subconscious that it’s, well, second nature. The flirty resonance of this song is complete with a subtle laugh track that plays on a loop throughout.
The fifth track on the album, “Thank You,” is an homage to a relationship that was doomed from the start, but appreciated nonetheless. Cottrill sings,
This song is the perfect reminder to celebrate the small wins and look for the light in any given situation. Even if something has outgrown you, still be grateful for the experience and the person it shaped you into becoming.
“Terrapin,” the sixth track, slows down to appreciate the simplicity of life. A terrapin is a certain type of turtle, but in this case, it’s the name of a bar Cottrill references.
“That song is about getting drunk with a friend and just looking at them and being like, ‘I love you,’” Cotrill said in a conversation with Interview Magazine. “Maybe you never say it to each other, but you say it then, and it’s this magical moment where you’re covered in love, you’re drenched in it, and nothing matters.”
With over 33 million streams on Spotify, “Juna” is a fan favorite for a reason. Its sparkly flourishes and flirty lyrics make for a catchy and audibly satisfying tune.
Cottrill is well-known to have paradoxically sad lyrics complete with an upbeat tune. Her hit song, “Bags,” released in 2019 is a gleaming example.
“Add Up My Love” follows a similar pattern. Without listening to the lyrics, this song makes you get up and groove, but after further inspection, it is quite gloomy.
This genre of music is one of my favorites to explore. The layers you peel back after listening multiple times is an experience in and of itself.
“Add Up My Love” is not a listen-one-time kind of track. It has emotional depth and vulnerability backed by insanely catchy instrumentals. Cottrill executes this concept flawlessly in “Add Up My Love,” thus taking the crown for my number one track.
In the song, Cottrill is processing a breakup. She begs the question everyone going through one asks themselves at one point: How is the other person doing, and are they missing me too?
“Glory of the Snow” is a reference to the purple, star-shaped flowers known for sprouting in early spring, symbolizing optimism and hope. Their ability to grow in wintry and cold conditions can be translated to emerging from a dark chapter of Cottrill’s life and beginning a new chapter defined by growth and development.
“Pier 4” is the closing track of “Charm”. In this song, she delves into the cyclical nature of self-sabotage and the struggle to make genuine connections. She sings,
It’s a sad way to end such a lovely album, but in a way, she keeps it true to herself and leaves it open-ended.
From start to finish, “Charm” impresses audiences with a journey of self-reflection, contemplation and emotional vulnerability. Cottrill’s confidence and allure prove that the third time really is the charm.
Edited by Ava McCluer | amccluer@themaneater.com
Copyedited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com
Edited by Annie Goodyoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com
