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Jul 29, 2024Clairo dares listeners to engage with a happier incarnation of herself while presenting observations that defy categorization: life is not necessarily happy or sad. The need for branding is a side effect of capitalism. By naming an album Charm, Clairo parodies and fulfills this requirement, mastering the music industry chess game while remaining on its periphery.
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Jul 11, 2024The invisible presence of Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Diana Ross, and other goliaths of the so-called Motown sound is felt in every track here, in every scratch of the tape. Yet, Cottrill managed to completely rebuild these genres for herself, almost inventing a new one.
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Jul 11, 2024It begs to be listened to again and again, and to soundtrack warm nights spent ruminating or engaged in the kind of conversations that can only come late in the night. The intricacies of ‘Charm’ demand to be intimately known.
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Jul 11, 2024Clairo is back and as charming as ever.
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Jul 16, 2024Charm lives up to its title – not with slick, rehearsed pickup lines – but a joyous, unguarded ‘Oh god, I can’t believe I just caught myself thinking this’-type of sincerity.
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Jul 12, 2024A new high-water mark for a deeply human songwriter, Charm balances introspection with gut feeling: sometimes it just feels good to run.
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Jul 12, 2024The greatest achievement across Charm remains Cottrill’s execution of another large-scale reimagining of her desired sound.
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Jul 12, 2024Thanks to the always sympathetic production, Cottrill's dedication, and the overall strength of the songs, it's a living, breathing sound that end sup as Clairo's most inviting and easy to love record yet.
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Jul 12, 2024‘Charm’ boasts a new level of maturity, its creator more poised and at ease than ever before.
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Jul 11, 2024The way Clairo’s voice glides over the grooves on Charm makes it all feel effortless, especially compared to the virtuosic performances around her. That effortlessness is not just the result of the creative alignment of the myriad musicians involved, but the clear vision of the artist at the helm.
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Jul 11, 2024While listeners won’t find Brat summer-esque anthems on Charm, the album is a soothing balm, providing an understated rush that’s ultimately just as impactful. What Clairo proves is that craft is paramount and she’s primed to become one of the most revered songwriters of her generation.
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Jul 11, 2024Where previously her voice could feel hampered by heavy instrumentation, Charm’s arrangements carve just enough space for it to flourish, allowing her words to speak for themselves behind refined, never overbearing, production.
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Aug 12, 2024Charm is contemplative in nature, yet its accessible lyrics paint familiar narratives whose emotion and vulnerability resonate with the audience who grew up alongside her. While some songs can easily blend together with Clairo’s stagnant hushed vocals and overall simplicity of the tracks, an eye for instrumentation displays Charm’s pristine attention to detail.
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Jul 11, 2024Rarely do these songs stray from this sophisticated palette. It suits her well, but it marks Charm as yet another successful but polite soft-rock outing, a format with somewhat diminishing returns.
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Jul 12, 2024Even with some gorgeous instrumentation and melodies, plus heartfelt lyrical meditations, there’s something missing on Charm. Most of that lacking feeling could be owed to Clairo’s stagnant, cooed vocals.
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Jul 11, 2024On the back half of the record, the production turns towards the kind of lo-fi psychedelia of Stereolab and Broadcast, Clairo embodying Trish Keenan’s detached delivery, another previously unseen aspect of her artistry she wears well. Like Sling, Charm is a grower of an album, Clairo growing with it.