Clairo - Sling (5th Anniversary)

Clairo's Sling turns five with an anniversary edition on 180-gram vinyl, a fitting home for the hushed, wood-paneled chamber pop of her 2021 second album.

After her 2019 debut Immunity, Clairo retreated to Allaire Studios in upstate New York in 2020 and came back with something slower, older-sounding and far more patient. Working with co-producer Jack Antonoff, she built songs around Wurlitzer, piano and a string quartet, with delicately layered vocals that feel like they were recorded at the kitchen table after midnight.

Lead single "Blouse" is the quiet centerpiece, a bruised reflection on being looked at but not heard, with Lorde adding backing vocals. "Amoeba" brings a loose, groovy 1970s-style shuffle, while opener "Bambi" sets the pace with a slow, unhurried build that rewards a little patience.

Running through it all are thoughts on growing up, domestic life and the pull of parenthood, the last of those prompted in part by her dog, who gets a song of her own in "Joanie". The arrangements stay spare and warm, leaving plenty of space around every word.

Five years on, Sling sounds like the moment Clairo stopped chasing anyone else's idea of her, and this heavyweight pressing suits its warm, vintage-leaning sound beautifully.