Clairo - Charm Review: Ethereal and Understated Album is her Best Yet

By Olivia Thorne

American singer-songwriter Clairo (Claire Cottrill) has reached new critical success with her latest album, Charm, released in July of this year.

Co-produced with Leon Michels, Charm injects a soulful and funk-like element to the Clairo’s ethereal style.

The album opens with ‘Nomad’, a soulful track that introduces the themes of heartbreak and solitude that is explored throughout.

This paves the way for the lead single, ‘Sexy to Someone’ (the second track). Despite the lyrics referencing self-doubt and needing a ‘reason to get out of the house’, the instrumentals are slick and reflect the eroticism she wishes to possess.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Cottrill said the album is a ‘cyclical thing’ and that the final track, ‘Pier 4’, marks the end of the relationship she was yearning for in ‘Nomad’.

Charm is a haunting, yet suave presentation of the solitude that comes before and after a relationship.