The Massachusetts singer-songwriter Clairo, real name Claire Cottrill, started out in the lo-fi world of bedroom pop. Her acclaimed debut, 2019’s Immunity, had its roots in those soft, fuzzy origins, but it also built on them, flitting flitted between earnest piano pop and nods to gleaming R&B complete with a dash of Auto-Tune. On this second record she aims more for the school of Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens, along with a smattering of Wings-style 70s sparkle.
Which is to say, the 22-year-old’s sound is intimate but never austere, her candid lyrics blanketed in clouds of vocal harmonies, with gently lavish guitar, piano, brass, woodwind, strings and Mellotron skittering and soaring throughout. Between Clairo’s arrangements and those of her co-producer, Jack Antonoff (best known for his work with Lorde, whose backing vocals appear on Blouse), the robust polish on display here is perhaps to be expected. Ruminating on everything from love, abusive men and her new dog, Joanie – even on an impressive instrumental number named after said canine – Sling is a generous, cinematic delight.
