Hey, everyone, Bigthony Heatano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Clairo record, Charm.

What we have here is the third big official commercial release record from singer-songwriter Claire Cotrill, aka Clairo, an artist who quickly captured the hearts and minds of the bedroom pop singer-songwriter scene in the mid to late 2010s through singles like "Bubblegum" and "Pretty Girl" and "Forever." Plus, she also put out this flood of EPs under her own name.

Though early on in Claire's come-up, there was a lot of hay made over this perception that she may be an industry plant, I think her prolific output and consistent dedication to her craft speaks for itself. It's not often you come across a teenage songwriting prodigy who's just pumping out one home recording after another and actually building a buzz on the internet off of it. So as a result of that, you can't really be surprised that she ended up linking up with hip indie-centric producers like Rostum of Vamp Weekend Fame, as well as Jack Antonoff down the road from there.

However, on her latest LP, Clairo is switching it up again, deciding to work with producer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Michiels of El Michels Affair, somebody who in the past has worked with greats such as Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, of course, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys Fame. His most recent and notable crossover with Black Thought was actually pretty fantastic, too. The guy has a real funk soul jazz background, so I went into this LP wondering how exactly that would marry with Clairo's very low-key, intimate, soft pop, sophisty pop style. The answer actually is quite well.

These two clearly have a mutual love for a very ornate '70s soft rock esthetics mixed with some very sharp and direct-to-the-point modern pop sensibilities. And this has all led to a pretty effective creative partnership, apparently, that has created a tight batch of no-mus, no-fuss pop tunes that deliver sharp hooks, sticky melodies, mature lyrics, and very ornate little arrangement touches here and there that I think elevate Claire's songs without making them sound too serious or overwrought. Because when it comes to Clairo, simplicity and subtlety are still very much the focus, especially considering that she is still, to this day, rocking that hushed, whisper, quiet vocal delivery, which personally I'm not the biggest fan of. I'm picky when it comes to artists who sing in that style.

But I think Claire's work with Leon here balances that out a bit in a way that Jack Antonoff's production on Sling didn't, as the acoustics and mixes on Claro's last record didn't necessarily liven up the songs much. They or less matched Claire's energy for the most part, which is fine. It's a valid approach. However, that cannot be said necessarily for the backing instrumentation on Charm, as there are lots of bold and standout and fun creative bits of musical instrumentation and spice and flavor thrown into most of these songs. Whether you're talking about the gentle arpeggios and slinky lead melodies on the opener "Nomad" or the punchy drums and slick woodwind melodies on "Sexy to Someone," the gorgeous piano phrasing songs all over "Slow Dance" are awesome. And those quick little ascending piano licks on "Thank You" have been stuck in my head for days. Again, nearly every track here has a stunning little musical feature, and it's impressive how much Leon and Claire are able to pack into these songs with them being as brief and as direct as they are most of the time.

Now, of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. There are tracks like "Second Nature," who's pacing, I found to be a little underwhelming, not to mention the constant chord changes and jazzy embellishments on "Terrapin," left that track not so much feeling like a focused song, but more like an explorative odyssey. So the sound of this record, in my opinion, is generally pretty great. With Leon, I think Claire has really hit upon something sonically, and the songwriting seems to be on a better trajectory, too.

There are certainly some spots where I'm left wanting more, like on "Echo," a track that, in my opinion, goes pretty much nowhere, just like the love the lyrics describes. Most of the time, though, Claire is absolutely on the ball with her writing describing romantic dynamics poetically that, frankly, are difficult to put into words. On the opener, "Nomad," she describes feeling touch starved and shameful about it and desiring proximity to somebody and having it and yet still feeling like a stranger to that person and wanting them, but simultaneously not wanting them because their presence is a reminder of just how temporary this whole situation is likely to be.

The song "Thank You" also has themes of temporary companionship, especially with one of the wittiest bars on the entire record where Claire says,

When I met you, I knew it. I'd thank you for your time.

You knew it was over from the start. You'd be like, "Hey, listen, thank you." Thank you for being here, but your time is done.

But yeah, there's a lot of patterns throughout these tracks of engaging in relationships to fill a void or stave off loneliness. We get a bit of that on the closing track, "Pier 4" as well. Claire is also left hanging out to dry a bit on the song "Add Up My Love," when she finds that her affection and attention on someone is not enough to keep them around. And additionally, on "Sexy to Someone," Claire longs to be desired by another person or really just in general in a way that is frame to seem like it's something out of a TV show or a movie or a rom-com, that moment where you lay eyes upon the love interest of the film and they're looking majestic and incredible.

As good as the writing and the melodies throughout these tracks are, though, there are some moments where I was just wanting a bit more from Claire on the vocal end, wishing her singing had a bit more punch, especially during moments where I feel like her vocals succumb to the instrumental a bit. Most on "Glory of the Snow," which I think is a bit spacy. But with all of that being said, generally, I thought this was a very good album from Claire.

Maybe not the most thrilling pop and singer-song writer record you are going to hear this year, but certainly certainly some of the stickiest and sweetest tunes that you are going to listen to in 2024, with a heoping helping of melancholic vibes and emotions packed into the center of them to boot. I'm feeling a decent two strong seven on this record.

Anthony Fantano, Clairo, Forever.