For three years, thought daughters and sons alike have anxiously awaited Atlanta-based pop singer Clairo’s second studio album. The soft-spoken artist has grasped the hearts of millions of both maturing and matured minds who have grown with Clairo since her first debut single in 2017. A connection like this between artist and fan only broadens the emotional weight of the music, which is already heavy with sentiment. “Charm” is the perfect continuation of this growth and Clairo’s own growth as trying to navigate both fame and more personal matters such as love and intimacy.
Sonically, “Charm” encapsulates the warmth and tenderness of a warm summer night by blending 70’s inspired funk and folk elements into a wispy, compassionate gem, or charm you can put in your pocket for good luck. This aesthetic pairs effortlessly with her gentle, sensitive lyricism.
Much of the album addresses her disappearance from media and details her journey back into the spotlight of both music and life. She has gained a new vibrancy for living and appreciation for barriers she had created for herself, like romantic connection. She owes this re-entry of this once-frightening topic to a special someone in the track “Thank You.” Lyrics like “When you opened the door, cracked me wide open” signify the effect that this person had on her dismal view of love and her new-found appreciation for relationships, even when they don’t last. This unfeigned vulnerability and gratitude is what I appreciated most about Clairo in this album; we’re seeing the truest form of herself that we’ve yet seen.
“Sexy to Someone”, the album’s first single, reveals Clairo’s intentions simplifying as she grows older. The want for love and devotion that she had so drastically avoided is what she now longs for. This wish is an incredibly relatable feeling that she shares with many of her listeners. Apart from just being very catchy, this new open-and-honest perspective with her listeners is what made this song a favorite for me.
Later in the album lies an even more sincere track, “Juna.” This song has easily become one of the album’s standouts, due to Clairo completely letting her guard down and confessing both excitement and fears of new love. She talks about the person she has become infatuated with, making her want to “try on feminine” and “go buy a new dress.” These changes seem more like long-term wishes than alterations. Love has allowed herself to open up to new sensibilities of life, that she wasn’t allowing for herself.
My most cherished and listened to song of the entire album is “Echo,” a mystical ballad about wanting to share her newfound love with the world and present this brighter, more grateful version of herself to everyone. The irony of the song is that while talking about wanting and wishing to tell everyone about her new attachment, she’s doing so in the song. Audibly, it’s the most interesting sounding song. This growth of variety in sound between songs parallels with her evolving lyrical game. She is playing around with things instead of just sticking to what she knows- a mark of a true artist.
“Charm” is a flirty, warm, sensational delight that perfectly encapsulates what love is like for such an emotionally suppressive person. I hope we continue to see this joyful, grateful Clairo, who is now extending beyond the emotional barriers many of us set for ourselves. Clearly her experiences have expanded more than just her idea of romance, but her expressiveness and openness in her music.
