When American indie-pop luminary Clairo told Spin she’d retreat from the noise of the music industry — and live an ascetic life in the mountains of New York — fans worried she’d stay gone forever. Three years later, the enigmatic singer-songwriter, born Claire Cottrill, resurfaces with her enchanting third studio album: Charm. Produced with the help of Leon Michels (of The Dap-Kings and El Michels Affair), Charm is a collection of warm, ‘70s-style grooves that move lithely between jazz, psychedelic folk and soul, evoking balmy summer evenings and tête-à-têtes in plush conversation pits.
‘Charm’ was tracked live to tape between the Queens-based studio Diamond Mine Recording and Allaire Studios, which is nestled in the mountains outside of Woodstock, NY. Producer Michels, a renowned soul revivalist who boasts work with funk legend Sharon Jones and The Black Keys, was enlisted to lead the strictly-analogue recording process.
Clairo, captivated by the grandness and the sophistication of classic records by Henry Nilsson and Blossom Dearie, adopted their 20th century recording techniques as part of a musical tradition — in hopes of staving off their obsolescence in the digital age. In ‘Charm’, she reprises the live instrumental sounds she first played with in Sling, yet raising an even mightier ensemble of horns, woodwinds and vintage synthesizers.
“People are deeply craving something tangible,” says Clairo. “Music that feels like you can touch it — where you can hear the tape click, hear the fuzz, hear the space of the studio. I think the pendulum is swinging back into touch. You see it in people buying old technology, people filming everything on VHS. People are going back to the long process, which requires you to work with intention.”
‘Charm’ is out today on Clairo’s own label ‘Clairo Records LLC’.