Clairo’s ‘Sling’ Is a Vintage Pop Triumph: Album Review

  • 📰 Variety
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 76 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 34%
  • Publisher: 63%

Entertainment Entertainment Headlines News

Entertainment Entertainment Latest News,Entertainment Entertainment Headlines

Clairo's Sling review: 'Sling' finds this young artist taking an unexpected but welcome turn into a new style, one that leaves the possibilities of her next chapter wide open

since her 2017 song “Pretty Girl” went viral, it’s astonishing — and just as astonishingly unsurprising — how few of them actually focus on her music. Even when people are writing specifically about her songs and albums — including this remarkable latest one, “Sling” — the focus is usually on her personality, her sexuality, her background, her battles with depression and other non-musical aspects.

While Clairo turns 23 next month, she’s been releasing songs for nearly a decade — first via YouTube covers and gradually originals, until “Pretty Girl” captured the imagination and algorithms of millions and lofted the then-college freshman to a level of renown that saw her opening for Dua Lipa right after finishing her first year at Syracuse University.

But Clairo has also advanced dramatically as a singer. Where Rostam compensated for her relatively limited range by loading it up with echo, here she and Antonoff have multi-tracked her voice with delicately layered harmonies that, with the exception of two songs featuring Lorde, are sung entirely by her. They’ve played up the baroque touches in other ways, as well: The album is loaded with vintage keyboards — particularly Wurlitzer electric piano — and a string quartet appears on several songs.

And yes, the lyrics address many of the aforementioned topics: There’s alienation and loneliness , a gross encounter with a music industry exec , and depression and family . There’s also a college reference in “Zinnias” so specific that it’s an intersection on the Syracuse campus . That song also includes the only lyrical mention of the album’s title, envisioning a potential future for herself with a “baby in a sling.

But we’re not here to unpack all that — “Sling” finds this young artist taking an unexpected but welcome turn into a new style, one that leaves the possibilities of her next chapter wide open.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 108. in ENTERTAİNMENT

Entertainment Entertainment Latest News, Entertainment Entertainment Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Pop Smoke’s Second Posthumous Album, ‘Faith,’ Brings In More Guests and a Broader Palette: Album ReviewThe posthumous album is, sadly, as much a part of the hip-hop ethos as is sampling vintage soul snippets or rapping raw lyrics ripe with braggadocio. Be it rap veterans with opulent production valu… Who does Chris Brown assault on this one, or is just our ears?
Source: Variety - 🏆 108. / 63 Read more »

Willow Smith Is Manic Panic PerfectionIt’s common knowledge at this point that the Smith children are insanely talented at just about everything, but OfficialWillow’s new album feels like it transcends beyond her 20 years. kerensacadenas writes OfficialWillow kerensacadenas Beautiful
Source: TheCut - 🏆 720. / 51 Read more »

Willow Smith Takes Pop-Punk To TherapyWith help from Travis Barker and Avril Lavigne, Willow blends enlightenment and angst.
Source: NylonMag - 🏆 697. / 51 Read more »

Pop Smoke, Dua Lipa, and the Art of the Posthumous DuetWe don't know which collaborators the late Pop Smoke would have chosen as his career progressed, which risks he would have taken, or how his vision would have evolved
Source: RollingStone - 🏆 483. / 51 Read more »

Willow Smith Shaves her Head on Stage'I'm always shaving my head at monumental times in my life...'
Source: papermagazine - 🏆 409. / 53 Read more »