Album reviews: Sling by Clairo is an enjoyable walk on the mild side
Leon Bridges amps up the ennui on his third album while Clairo's major label debut is a holler of joy
★★★★☆
Claire Cottrill, aka Clairo, is the face and voice of “bedroom pop” – music mumbled into laptops, usually away from the prying gaze of adults. But on her major label debut she embraces the great outdoors with results that suggest a Gen Z companion piece to Taylor Swift’s Folklore.
That may not be a coincidence as the projects share a producer in Jack Antonoff (who likewise pops up on the next Lorde album – on which Clairo contributed backing vocals). But where Folklore was a lockdown undertaking, Clairo’s new record is all about the wide open vistas of upstate New York, to where Cottrill (22) temporarily relocated to make the Sling.
Fans of Clairo’s 2019 first LP Immunity may initially be surprised at her arcadian new direction. Immunity felt like secrets whispered in your ear. Sling, by contrast, is a holler of joy delivered from a forest clearing. One of the inspirations, Cottrill has stated, is her dog Joanie – a bucolic bestie who has brought her out of herself and encouraged her to see the world in new a way (and who, inevitably, is named after Joni Mitchell).
Joanie has not, however, cured Clairo of the melancholy which drips through tracks such as Bambi and Amoeba. Largely absent are the bittersweet beats that were a feature of Immunity. On the other hand, the zinging guitar line on Zinnias hints that Sling might be a passing phase. And that, sooner rather than later, Clairo will once more be unleashing her tragic disco grooves. Until then, Sling is a walk on the mild side that will appeal to devotees of sad songs performed honestly and without embellishment.
★★★★☆
Texas-man bluesman Bridges has forged a respectable career as a sort of modern day Sam Cooke. However, he amps up the ennui on his third album whilst also incorporating more contemporary beats. That’s a smart move as it makes Gold-Diggers Sound feel like less of an immaculate museum piece than his 2015 debut, Coming Home.
Born Again is a wistful ballad, fuelled by squelchy keys and with treated vocals that recast Bridges as careworn older brother to fellow-Texan Khalid. And on Motorbike, a finger picked guitar is paired with a rumbling rhythm and plaintive lyrics.
It’s old, it’s new – and sure to appeal to long-time Bridges fans and recent acquaintances alike.
