One sentence summary: Clairo’s Charm is a dreamy sonic experience with plenty of acoustic harmonies and interesting touches which makes the tracks hold up even after many listens.
Charm is the third studio album by singer-songwriter Clairo (Claire Cottrill) and features 11 new songs and a runtime of 38 minutes. The album is tonally consistent in both subject matter and sound sticking to tried and true love song formulas with an alternative almost “70s” sound. The instrumentation and production on the album are fantastic with many instrumental solos which present unique and vibrant counter melodies and harmonies which add depth to the songs. The songwriting on display on the album is also top notch with the melodies being catchy and interesting, despite their being limited vocal range. The vocals on the album are perhaps the weak point as they sometime seem to get overshadowed in clarity by the backing instruments. It seems that Clairo has opted for a lowkey style which lacks power or an edge. While this is not inherently a problem, it tends to hold back some of the more upbeat songs with melodies that would benefit from a little more emotion. This is not to say that Clairo has a bad voice as the vocals are certainly pleasant (in particular when they are harmonically layered) but that they are very low energy which is awkward to contrast with the clear clarinet or piano solos. This brings up a problem with the mix as a whole because the vocals seem to be out of focus with the rest of the production. Hazy vocals should generally be accompanied by hazy drums and backing. Lyrically, the album has its moments but is not on the whole going to blow any listener away and is at times juvenile.
Standouts on the album include the titular track “Nomad” for its excellent bridge, “Sexy to Somebody” for its catchy melody, “Second Nature” for the jazz sound, “Thank You” due to its memorable verse and 7 chords, “Juna” for the lo-fi melodies, and “Pier 4” for being a lullaby-like closer. The weakest tracks on the project were in my opinion, “Slow Dance” for its length and repetition, and “Echo” because I dislike the chord progression.
All in all, I would highly recommend this album to anyone who likes jazz or acoustic pop and is looking for a relaxing lowkey listening experience. I give this album an 8.5/10.