Clairo releases new single and announces upcoming album, co-produced by–you guessed it–Jack Antonoff
Clairo Cottrill, also known as Clairo, announced the release of her sophomore album Sling, due July 16th
Music News Jack Antonoff
Producer Jack Antonoff’s grip on the women of pop continues. Indie darling Clairo Cottrill, also known as Clairo, announced the release of her sophomore album Sling, due July 16th. She also shared the first single from Sling this morning, titled “Blouse.” Cottrill co-produced the forthcoming album with Jack Antonoff.
The new album art features Cottrill’s dog Joanie, who she says inspired the forthcoming LP. “Joanie, my dog, opened up my world in ways I didn’t think were capable. By caring for her, it forced me to face my own thoughts about parenthood and what it would mean to me, stories as lessons, regrets as remorse.. thinking about something/someone before yourself,” the singer says. “It’s a glimpse into a world where I found that domesticity is what I was missing.”
The track is a much more delicate offering than her previous work, stepping away from the synth indie-pop that defined her debut album Immunity, co- produced with Vampire Weekend’s former songwriting powerhouse Rostam Batmanglij. “Blouse,” by contrast, is reminiscent of early Bon Iver or Sufjan Stevens à la Carrie & Lowell.
This makes two notable releases she’s been involved with in 24 hours: Cottrill sings the backup vocals alongside Phoebe Bridgers on Lorde’s newest Antonoff-produced single “Solar Power,” released yesterday. Lorde returned the favor, providing backup vocals on “Blouse.” Cottrill debuted her new song on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon last night.
Antonoff’s role on Clairo’s upcoming record only poses concern due to his tendency to give all his work the same treatment. You know an Antonoff-produced record when you hear it: the overwrought chorus building, the repetitive, percussive acoustic guitar part and the tendency to hollow-out the sound of women he works work with. His previous work includes Lorde’s Melodrama, and both St. Vincent’s Masseduction and her Daddy’s Home. The Bleachers lead singer also worked with Taylor Swift on folklore, and with Lana Del Rey on Norman Fucking Rockwell! While Antonoff without a doubt possesses talent, another songstress working with him feels like a further flattening of the pop sound.
14 Comments
another songstress working with him feels like a further flattening of the pop soundI completely agree. It’s so frustrating when one producer/songwriter gains this level of prominence because everything starts sounding even more similar than it already did. Babyface, Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, Diane Warren, Max Martin… They’re all immensely talented, but we’re all better off when the radio isn’t being dominated by one of them.
Pharrell knows how to be distinct though; he knows how to cater to his leads strengths. Besides that, he also has Chad Hugo to help (even if that means taking credit). Antonoff ain’t Pharrell.
Thanks to this comment, I spent way too much time looking up Scott Storch’s productions (he had some bangers, though).
I honestly thought that headline would end in: “You Guessed It: Frank Stallone.”
What, exactly, did Jack Antonoff do to every music writer in my feed? He’s produced a lot of great albums and has a track record of being a gracious, supportive, positive collaborator for the artists he works with.
Like, he’s not my number one producer in the world, but there are so many shittier pop producers. At least we’re done with the fucking Dr. Luke era.
He might be the producer of his generation! ..or, A producer, in.. A generation..
But I hardly know Anton!
Ah Jack Antonoff: they guy who help make your least favorite music from all of your favorite artists.
hey, its good to see him rebound and find honest work after that big lobbyist scandal
I’m just happy to see Charo dropping the ditzy floozy act and finally taking her music seriously.
this is the second thing I’ve read about this Clairo person today and all I can think is ‘am I supposed to know who this is?’and I kind of like to think I am ‘with it,’ especially with the genre I imagine she works within.. indie/art-pop singer-songwriter. also I echo the sentiments of you any others in these comments, I (a woman who listened to Melodrama 4 hours ago) am worried. too much AnTUNAff!
Not to give you too much grief but… Isn’t reading music news articles one of the ways to learn who current artists are?I never get the “I’ve never heard of this person” complaints… We aren’t inherently born knowing who Clairo is, you have to pick it up somewhere…
I wasn’t necessarily complaining, I just found it odd she was mentioned multiple times in my random internetting today..
Damn that song is intensely boring.