Clairo's five or so years as a rising, teenaged Bandcamp self-releaser turned social media star included viral songs such as "Pretty Girl" and "Flaming Hot Cheetos" as well as collaborations with fellow bedroom pop phenoms Cuco and Jakob Ogawa. On her full-length major-label debut, Immunity, she maintains a feel largely defined by soft vocals and woozy atmosphere and officially leaves the bedroom behind. Co-produced by Vampire Weekend alum Rostam, the album's velvety textures sound constructed rather than preprogrammed, and ...
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Clairo's five or so years as a rising, teenaged Bandcamp self-releaser turned social media star included viral songs such as "Pretty Girl" and "Flaming Hot Cheetos" as well as collaborations with fellow bedroom pop phenoms Cuco and Jakob Ogawa. On her full-length major-label debut, Immunity, she maintains a feel largely defined by soft vocals and woozy atmosphere and officially leaves the bedroom behind. Co-produced by Vampire Weekend alum Rostam, the album's velvety textures sound constructed rather than preprogrammed, and guest Danielle Haim plays live drums on several tracks. The record's closer even features a children's chorus. It remains a distinctly intimate affair, however, as established on opener "Alewife." Ethereal, choral-like synths and a sentimental piano chord progression set the tone before a pit-a-pat drum rhythm accompanies Clairo as she recounts a night in her early teens when a friend stopped her from attempting suicide. A song concerned with gratitude more than brooding, its pillow-soft vocal delivery translates to tracks throughout the album, even the alt-'90s-inspired "Bags" and low-key dance-rock of "Sofia." On the latter song, she ventures into melisma, while the spacious ballad "Closer to You" experiments with the Auto-Tune and muffled drums of slow-jam territory. Acknowledging these stylistic variances and subtle production touches, Immunity is nothing if not consistent in providing Clairo's confessional lyrics and seemingly thematically detached vocals with a cushiony-soft landing. What she loses here in charm, she makes up for in lyrical depth and an enveloping sense of comfort. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi
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