Clairo - "Charm" (2024)

One of the pop girls I was getting into last summer that I didn't end up getting round to talking about was Clairo, and specifically her newly released third album, Charm. It's a very easy on the ears and summery album, so when the autumn nights drew in and the weather got worse, it fell out of my rotation and I didn't feel the impetus to write about it. However, I've found it returning back into my rotation again this summer and I think it's worth highlighting because I think its a pretty great album that has only grown on me in the 15 months since it's release.

Prior to this album cycle I was only aware of Clairo as one of the early breakouts from the mid-2010's bedroom pop scene and a mild nepo-baby allegations internet 'controversy', but I had never actually listened to any of her music before. So my first experience of Clairo in earnest was hearing the lead single for this record, Sexy to Someone, on the radio while I was driving. And damn it's a great first impression. The elegant 70s baroque pop instrumentation, subtle groove and Clairo's hazy, whimsical voice all combine to create this dreamy and relaxed atmosphere that feels so out of time against the chaotic barrage of information of the modern world. Lyrically, it is also really thoughtful and unique. As the title suggests, it is about wanting to be considered sexy by someone. But it is not a lustful song, or even a sexy song in any real sense. It's about pining for companionship and to be desired by someone, and for that person to come into your life and shake up the routine you've become complacent in. One of my favourite lyrics in the song is "Oh, I need a reason to get out of the house", which Clairo sings in such an unglamourous, straight-up way.

The rest of Charm further explores these themes of pining for love and connection, but feeling so far away from it - in your own lane and routine, well away from anyone that might come in and shake all of that up. This is all paired up against really gentle and low-key, throwback sophisti-pop, baroque pop and soft rock instrumentals that sound straight out of the 70's and 80's, further aiding that 'out of time' vibe throughout the whole record. On the opener, Nomad, Clairo compares her love life to that of a nomad, and how she struggles to connect with the people she is with and how she has the itching urge to always move on to the next thing, never letting herself settle down with someone. Thank You has similar themes, where Clairo basically admits that she knew a certain relationship had an expiry date from the moment she first met this person. The brazen admition of kind of using this person is really quite stark and not something you see a lot in pop music. Second Nature and Slow Dance are gentle piano led tunes where Clairo in turn expresses her confidence in a relationship and then her insecurities about one that is clearly fading out and in its twilight hours. The tracks are placed back to back in the tracklist and provide a sense of duality, where as much Clairo wants to believe that it will work out, she ultimately knows it wont. 

Terrapin is a jazzy tune that explores the simple things in life, and I really love the pianos and keyboards skittering about in the mix - it sounds really cool. This leads into Juna, which goes one step further and builds something more monumental. The song is certainly the centrepiece of the album with its ascending synth and horn lines and the strident hook of "You know me-ee-ee" that rises up with the instrumentation. Add Up My Love returns to the slightly meatier grooves of Sexy to Something, with some lush woodwind and strings to back it up. The song once again takes the idea of a break up and pining for someone, and spins it with the interesting idea of Clairo wanting to take all the time she is spending thinking about this person and condensing it into one chunk of 'sad time' that she can get through and then be done with. 

Echo feels very late 60's / early 70's to my ears. The hazy vocals, woozey psychedelic guitars and fuzzy moog synths really give off a Nico / Carpenters / Early Pink Floyd kind of mash up; whereas Glory of the Snow gives off a later, pop-era Fleetwod Mac atmosphere with the reverby piano and jovial melody. Pier 4 closes out the record as a simple acoustic ballad that wraps up the record's themes really well, referencing back to the ideas of not feeling romantically seen and kicking it out in your own lane that Nomad brought up at the start of the record.

Charm is a great album, it captures the vibe and atmosphere it is going for perfectly, and has a lot of really interesting things to say about its lyrical themes and ideas. While I did enjoy it last summer when it was first released, it has really taken its time to sink in with me and I like it even more now. I kind of got addicted to Bags from her second album when it went semi-viral on tiktok earlier this year, so I'm exited to check out the rest of her discography to see if it stacks up to this record.

Top Tracks: Nomad, Sexy to Someone, Thank You, Terrapin, Juna, Add Up My Love, Echo, Pier 4

8/10

Wolf Alice - "The Clearing" (2025)

Wolf Alice are a special band to me, with each of their records soundtracking my life over the past ten years - from teenager to student to adult. Visions Of A Life and Blue Weekend in particular are records that have never really left my rotation, and I probably listen to them a dozen or so times a year each. The Clearing comes just over four years after Blue Weekend, making it the longest wait between albums yet (VOAL and BW had just under four years between them), and it was clear (pun intended) from the first rumblings from the group that this was going to be a big departure from their previous three albums. Ditching their previous indie label Dirty Hit for the massive major label, Columbia; and enlisting pop super-producer Greg Kurstin - it is clear that the band are making a big swing at cracking the mainstream. (Despite their critical acclaim and the indie cult classic status of Don't Delete The Kisses, they've never had a top 40 single).

The first taste of this new era we heard was the bombastic lead single, Bloom Baby Bloom. The song is showy dramatic piece of piano-led glam rock, with Ellie Rowsell's soaring vocals gliding above a rollicking piano riff and snappy percussion. So it was pretty evident that the rest of the record would be leaning into the 70's rock revival that the indie scene has been obsessed with over the past year or so. As much as a like the song, I was a little worried for the album as a whole; as I'm not the biggest fan of Kurstin's production in general (particularly when it comes to more indie leaning acts) and Bloom Baby Bloom, while it does sound great, it is rather clean and shiny for a band known for their noisy, layered songs and fuzzed out guitars.

I'm glad to say that Kurstin hasn't butchered the production here (the opener, Thorns, is the only real offender of the dreaded 'pop producer throws in everything and the kitchen sink' cliché with it's unearned swells of strings, and excessive multitracked and tremolo effected vocals), but he doesn't really excel at it either. The record on the whole sounds way too clean and sterile, lacking the organic warmth and intimacy of the sounds and styles it is calling back to. It feels like the big budget, Hollywood, focus-tested version of a 70's throwback record - which is essentially what it is. I think the problem with this is that the songwriting is also a bit hit and miss (which is quite unexpected for Wolf Alice), meaning that the weaker songs here just breeze by without any interesting production to draw attention to them.

Where the record really excels is in its singles. Just Two Girls follows Bloom Baby Bloom in the tracklist and is one of the most lyrically detailed songs on the record. The song is a heartfelt ode to female friendship (completing a trilogy of songs including Bros and Beautifully Unconventional). It's lyrically dense and witty, yet subtly catchy with groovy piano riff and little variations on the vocal melody throughout the song. The album then closes out with the other two singles, White Horses and The Sofa. White Horses is a driving, jangly, somewhat folky indie rock tune that builds up in layers to a cacophony of sound. It is probably the closest to the band's typical walls of sound that The Clearing gets and is appreciated after and album that is generally pretty mellow throughout. The Sofa, on the other hand, is a rich, cinematic, string-laden ballad to close out the record and its themes. Ellie soulfully croons about finding peace in herself and accepting the duality of wanting to be the dramatic, sexy rock frontwoman that she has often portrayed herself as in the band's previous output; and to be the chill, laid-back 'clean girl' who just wants to 'lay on the sofa' and take life at a slower pace. All three of these songs are excellent and stand up with the rest of the band's catalogue.

Unfortunately The Clearing starts to falter in the deep cuts, that are all concentrated in the middle of the record. I like the subtle jangle of Leaning Against The Wall, and it's initial tale of running into an ex long after the breakup when all the pain has subsided. But the song very quickly hits a lyrical dead end as Ellie doesn't really go much further into the encounter beyond a few cliché remarks, and the song also barely has a chorus. It definitely feels like the song needed more time in the oven. Similarly, Play It Out has some interesting ideas around aging and motherhood, but is wrapped up in a slow piano ballad where the instrumental is frankly quite plain and boring. Passenger Seat is a pretty perfunctory soft rock tune. It's perfectly fine while it's on, but there are a thousand songs that sound exactly like it and explore similar themes of escape and 'running away with the person you love'. I have similar feelings about Safe In the World, which for me is the most unremarkable song in the tracklist. Bread Butter Tea Sugar is another song that has elements I really like (the more dramatic, glam rock aesthetic and more commanding vocals from Ellie), but once again feels kind of kneecapped by the production. The groove feels very stiff and rigid, and lacks the swagger and arrogance that this kind of glam rock song needs. The only deep cut that I think hits the mark in all elements is the dreamy, layered up chamber folk track, Midnight Song. It's the kind of song that the band has pulled off before so it is right in their wheelhouse. It is also one of the few moments where the warmth and texture of the record shines through the production; and Ellie's vocals remind me of the likes of Nico, adding to the throwback vibe.

There is some great stuff on The Clearing, and some tunes that are going to be Wolf Alice Staples in years to come. But it is weirdly inconsistent for a band that has never been inconsistent, even back to their earliest EPs. That combined with just the wrong choice in producer, results in an album that while has its moments, doesn't come together to anything particularly impactful. I don't see myself in a couple of years regularly putting this on like I do with the rest of the discography, and I'll probably only listen to it in future when I'm just having a Wolf Alice binge and listening through the whole discography. It's a bit of a shame, but I think it's just a misfire and the band will probably go and do something completely different again for album 5.

Top Tracks: Bloom Baby Bloom, Just Two Girls, Midnight Song, White Horses, The Sofa

6/10

Paolo Nutini - "Last Night In The Bittersweet" (2022)

Paolo Nutini is a favourite of mine from my adolescent years, with his work cumulating in the dramatic and grandiose Caustic Love in 2014. That record is still one that I spin regularly, having a timeless energy to it, eschewing the acoustic pop and folk of his first two records for a fuller and more rich combination of blue-eyed soul and bluesy indie rock. After touring for the album finished, Nutini largely dropped off the map for the following eight years, re-emerging with this, his fourth record. The album very much follows on from Caustic Love, incorporating a large full band sound with dramatic and detailed production. The influences at play in that album have further coalesced into a sound reminiscent of 70s soft rock - think Rumours era Fleetwood Mac. What results is a long and quite patient album that goes at its own pace. There are some of the more 'rocking' moments on here, but its quite clear that Paolo is more interested in being an earnest songwriter than a captivating showman on here.

All is evident from the 4 minute intro track, Afterneath, a slow build up of rumbling guitars and bass with Paolo's distant wails in the background. It's not the catchy and punchy single that his album's have previously opened up with. It then leads into Radio, a very relaxed and soulful soft rock tune where Paolo laments the disingenuousness of pop music and that "he wants love" and something he can truly relate to. I really like the song, but its one that quietly wraps around you and is content that it doesn't actually have to try all that hard. Again it's a song for Paolo himself, not the radios it is titled after. Following this is two of the singles, both very earnest singer/songwriter tracks, both equally beautiful and soothing. The first of these is Through The Echoes, where Nutini details a connection he has with someone that transcends their differences. Similarly, Acid Eyes yearns for the past and regrets mistakes made and feels like Paolo coming to terms with these regrets. It's sweet and honest and great. 

The next track is then a spoken word interlude, which means that Lose It, the sixth track and 20 minutes into the record is the first time it really breaks lose into a more up-tempo and momentum driven mode. Lose It is akin to some of the longer more blues rock influenced songs on Caustic Love, with its driving fuzzed out guitars and Paolo sounding gruffer and more gritty. The song is about letting go and just enjoying yourself - its great to just sing along to and forget the world. It builds and builds, introducing backing soul vocals and extra guitars and keyboards as it progresses to the climax. The other linear barnburner on the album, comes much later in the tracklist, being Shine A light, a song that sounds more influenced by heartland rock than the blues of Lose It. Equally great, it reaches outwards, trying to counter the loneliness and isolation you can feel at times.

In between these two songs, the album then returns to its unpressured meanders into lowkey and earnest songs. Everywhere has a vintage soul flavour to its swaying grove and electric organs, and classic bluesy guitar solo. Abigale is a simple folk tune reminiscent of Paolo's 2nd album, Sunny Side Up. The twangy guitars, bass work and melodies of Children Of The Stars is the most Fleetwood Mac-y the album gets, you can just imagine Christine McVie or Stevie Nicks crooning on it instead of Nutini. Heart Filled up is initially similarly stripped back as Abigale, before layering more electric instruments in. Like Afterneath, it feels like more like a building interlude than a fully fledged song.

After Shine A light is another crop of songs that close out the record. and while they're generally of the same quality as the rest of the record, the sequencing makes them feel kind of unnecessary as by this point the record has hit the length of the majority of pop releases and the song feels very much like it could be a finale to the record. Out of the remaining songs, my favourites are the last two songs, Take Me Take Mine, and Writer. Take Me Take Mine is a soothing soul tune where Paolo bares his heart and proclaims that he will always be there to sooth over all of the insecurities and worries the subject of the song has. The track ebbs and flows with washes of reverby guitar and piano. Writer is a cute little acoustic song that sort of breaks the fourth wall as the closer, as Paolo directly addresses us, the audience, about his role as a songwriter and the relationship between the two.

Perhaps the weakest songs on the record are actually the ones closest to being radio friendly. Petrified In Love and Desperation are jaunty indie tunes that stick out like a soar thumb amongst the passionate soul and bluesy soft rock of the rest of the record, and just feel a bit odd coming from Paolo at this age. They sound like songs written by a twenty-something, not someone in their mid thirties. They could've easily been cut, along with a couple of the other songs here to make the record tighter and more impactful. Give it a re-sequence to help with the pacing and it perhaps would've enjoyed it more than I currently do. However, the quality of the record is still consistent, so the fact that it's a bit long also doesn't impact it too much. Paolo is a great songwriter and these are good songs so I'm glad to have him back after the long hiatus.

 

Top Tracks: Radio, Through The Echoes, Acid Eyes, Lose It, Everywhere, Shine A Light, Take Me Take Mine, Writer

7/10