CLAIRO - Immunity LP

Label: Fader

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, while she maintains a feel largely defined by soft vocals and a woozy atmosphere, she 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.

Like her peers Maggie Rogers, Rex Orange County and – in ballad form at least – Billie Eilish, there is often an earnestness to her voice that older listeners will either wistfully remember or irritatedly recoil from: all the angst of parsing meaning in two-word texts from your crush, rendered in pained, slightly strained tones on songs like White Flag. Clairo reminds us of what we won and lost on the battlefield of teenage love.