Clairo - Immunity

I didn't expect to fall in love with this in the way that I am. I didn't listen to her until I heard "Bags" a few weeks ago and it's now a tune that's been impossible to get out of my head for the past few days. I've been warm to a lot of the record as well, especially "I Wouldn't Ask You" which makes for such an excellent closer. Didn't know I missed it so bad before it came into my life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9HYJbe9Y18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9l8zCOwEII

Yes! this is one of the best debut albums of the year. I was watching her genius video explaining the lyrics to “bags” and it might be the first time in those videos I actually see an artist explain a song eloquently.

i really like her melodies, "alewife" and "bags" are both really good

very similar vibe to some of the tracks on last year's now, now album but a bit more subdued overall

listening more and it's largely wonderful. a few moments don't really work for me like the very very VW harpsichord flourishes and choir on "impossible" and the verse in "closer to you" feels underwritten but those are fairly minor complaints. "alewife", "north", "bags", "sofia", and "i wouldn't ask you" all feel like instant classics

also impressed by how seamlessly she does both dreamy alt r&b and indie rock

this thread is subtly sexist and misogynist but the culture isn't ready for that conversation

lol

also in case it isn't clear (apparently it wasn't clear?) I did like this record a lot

it was pretty clear to me, your review was what made me most interested in the album

new single "i don't think i can do this again" with mura masa:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wUIexMVG9k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR8NvbZUs8M

great performance

I know we don't have to choose but give me this over Billie Eilish any day, man.

just getting back to these after quick listen upon its release. Feeling it a lot more now rather than during the summer.

I feel basically the same way the OP does. I was skeptical, didn't particularly love (but also didn't hate) "Pretty Girl" and didn't fall for Immunity immediately. But boy has it grown on me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmtZzo05pqQ

new antonoff produced album on its way, lead single is gorgeous

I voted Bags as my SOTY on this site in 2019 — i distinctly remember hearing it on the bus for the first time and thinking “oh my god” to myself about 90 seconds into the track

Not sure how I feel about this new one on first listen though. It’s pretty but I prefer Immunity’s light-r&b sounds?

Loved Immunity and its blend of folk and electro-pop. Hit a very nice balance despite a good deal of studio work that never sounded overworked. The songs were sad but the music wasn't. Restrained Rostam and Dave Fridmann was a perfect pairing that complemented her plain vocals.

This feels like a dirge in comparison. Gone is the chill bedroom pop. This is just sad. Hoping the rest of the album is a little lighter...

i loved Immunity too ... it really grew on me, a lot.

this is a different thing that i also love / can love. if she does a whole album of this, i'll be on board. of course, if she just makes another Immunity, that'd be good too. :)

immunity is a classic... this sounds like phoebe bridgers. not for me personally but i'm sure there's an audience for it

I forgot about liking Immunity until about a month ago when "Alewife" was used in Mare of Easttown and wormed its way back into my head, and I played the album non-stop for about two weeks. Four or five really catchy songs, and the rest just keeps growing on me, too. I'm not sure what to make of this song, but I'm excited for the album.

i'd be a bit disappointed if the whole album was bridgers-esque folk like this one but this is a good song & captures what makes her a compelling songwriter still so i'm on board

Very Simon & Garfunkely. I dig it, but a whole album this dour would be too much.

Like the new song even if it's a little more Swifty than i would prefer

yeah, i could definitely be into this. i wish i thought the album would be all like this ... i don't ... but maybe?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJiM4BuX-hw

Like the new song even if it's a little more Swifty than i would prefer

― burly crafty woodsman (James Harden) vs tall ethereal phantom (forksclovetofu)

The Antonoff touch. Not a fan of how it sounds tbh. Seems it loses the point of what it made her unique.

album is great, very much going for a 70s singer-songwriter sound but most of it isn't anywhere near as mellow as "blouse"

a few tracks in, this is much more enjoyable than anything I heard on the first lp, and probably for me the most interesting thing i've heard Antonoff produce.

i keep wanting michael mcdonald to be doing the backing vocals though.

okay there are 2 or 3 too many boring slower tracks on this. cut it down to 9 or 10 tracks pls.

i was hopeful, but ... :(

after hearing "Blouse," i mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w18NGVqm0bg

this one's really good

"Sofia" is, by far, the best thing she has done. I see I missed the last album and now this will be number 3.

Thanks for sharing ufo

Huh Sofia is currently her most streamed song, thought “bags” was the big one. Sofia melody reminds me of something else… like eurodance… Gigi d’Agostino or so… first time hearing it and it sounds like something I knew my whole life… cool song.

“Sexy to someone” sounds good, El Michels Affair is apparently involved in the full album? That sounds promising.

Oh wow Immunity is from 2019! What the fuck. I could have sworn Bags (the only song I knew from her) was released post pandemic.

Sofia is so good btw

"sofia" is her best yeah, but what it's imitating is the strokes (just with synth bass)

here's the strokes messing around with a cover of it live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySjEdHaXajc

Oh yeah you’re right! I can definitely hear it.

new album is really lovely

definitely her best album, the arrangements are a huge step up

Good album but i wish the songwriting was sharper

sounds really good -- happy to have a break from antonoff. some of this production sounds like jon brion in his prime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcrf0-fIZhY

lol i hadn't realised that she's imitating a trumpet on "juna"

blue6ave's jon brion comparison was the thing that convinced me to press play on this, and i'm glad i did. i was surprised to find it was produced by leon michels of el michels affair. this album doesn't sound like that band's hip-hop-ified take on 60s-70 r&b, but his hand takes it away from the jon brion-esque baroque pop feel and towards the lush side of northern soul. i'm thinking particularly of mid-album tracks like the stylistics-esque "terrapin" and "juna."

the single is great

i'm loving this but i'm not sure if it's great or i'm so in love with an indie pop album that isn't produced like shit

great job by clairo and the daptone dude

It definitely sounds amazing.

Hard to judge on an “is this good songwriting on its own terms” basis given Clairo’s general whispery narcoleptic “think of a tune and then subtract 25%” aesthetic.

yeah i wish i liked this more than i do, nothing's tight enough to land for me; reminds me of a better-produced version of that Lizzy McAlpine record, which is also overrated

in a similar mode, i'm much fonder of the Phoebe Go or Haley Blais or Dweller albums

It's pretty good. Production is great indeed. But it seems there's a level in the songwriting quality that she can't pass.

the songs are nice enough but the arrangements do really carry it. wish she did more of the overlapping vocal lines like on "sexy to someone"

Yeah that is her best trick

It works because her vocal delivery is too mellow on it's own

I love the album but more than anything it makes me miss Natalie Prass. Hope that she's doing well, wherever she may be!

that's a good comparison, and I hadn't realized it's now been 6 years since the last NP album.

her debut is a classic to me. still love playing that album, which i have been doing not infrequently lately. the distinctly rostam mix of warm, organic instruments/sounds juxtaposed against more jittery, dissonant electronic ones is one of the things i really love about it, so i've never quite cottoned to the decidedly um pre-drum machine direction she has taken w/ the last two records. i do think "sexy to someone" is a pretty fun single

yeah natalie prass was also who this album brings to mind most of all

I just played the new Clairo album twice in a row and it's comfortably my favourite thing she's done. The songwriting seems like a big step-up this time round and as ufo says, the arrangements are fantastic. I really love the Stereolab vibes of Echo. Glory Of The Snow is gorgeous. Most of my favourite songs seems to be on the second half.

Agree on the Natalie Prass comparisons. I keep hoping she'll come back with a new album some day. The second album really seemed to under-perform which is a real shame. Her debut is an absolute classic that I still play a ton.

'sexy to someone' is among her best songs imo. haven't really latched onto the rest of the album but I think that one is great as is

also the use of the flute on that is kind of refreshingly dated sounding ... like a 60s-70s jazz pop thing, record collector type maneuver

The woodwinds generally are A+

Always liked her vibe but everything seemed a little too slight in the music and production. This is lovely though. The hooks aren't super catchy with few exceptions (sexy to someone will likely get into my head after a few listens) but the album sounds lovely and there's really nice little flourishes that are super pleasing to me ears.

"Sexy to Someone' is indeed great, one day I will get around to hearing this album.

"Juna" is great also. 2/2 on singles afaic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsxAVFQkXQ8

Shocked that that's apparently one of the few tracks that Homer Steinweiss DOESN'T play drums on.

Turns out if you mix Clairo and the Daptones you basically get Men I Trust

I love the album but more than anything it makes me miss Natalie Prass. Hope that she's doing well, wherever she may be!

She’s alive and well. She decided to take a hiatus from the music business because it’s a horrible nightmare for most people. We’re doing great though and she’s now a teacher for kids with special needs - but she still writes and plays music

— eric slick (@ericslickmusic) July 12, 2024

Sling is damn beautiful. I totally slept on this album.

new song by clairo and el michels affair that continues the whole 'charm' thing. it's nice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebcvdzqk9EI