walking upstream…
Clairo
sourcesWikipedia · Rolling Stone · Far Out Magazine
Claire Cottrill built a career out of the bedroom pop she started uploading as a teenager, turning a viral 2017 webcam video for "Pretty Girl" into a foundational text of the genre. With Rostam Batmanglij producing Immunity and Jack Antonoff producing Sling, she traded lo-fi haze for a warmer, increasingly vintage-inflected sound, and by Charm she'd leaned fully into the '70s soft-pop and soul records she grew up on. Her hushed, conversational alto and DIY origin story made her one of the most influential voices in 2010s–20s indie pop.
the sound in question
2017
Pretty GirlClairo
walk the tributaries ↓
The Beach Boys1960s · Rock / Pop / Psychedelic pop
Clairo has called 'Second Nature' the most Beach Boys (and Harry Nilsson) song she's written, and has talked about her long love of 'Little Pad,' the Hawaiian-guitar sway off Smiley Smile — that same unhurried, sun-bleached vocal blend and simple repeating hook carries into her own writing.
listen: upstream & here
1967
Little PadThe Beach Boys
2024
Second NatureClairo
listen forCue up 'Little Pad' and then 'Second Nature' back to back — listen for the same loping, close-harmony warmth and unfussy melodic repetition, just filtered through Clairo's hushed, close-mic'd delivery instead of the Beach Boys' full group blend.
The Carpenters1970s · Soft rock / Pop rock / Adult contemporary
Clairo has pointed to the Carpenters — and Karen Carpenter's voice in particular — as one of her biggest influences, and it's Sling's hushed, orchestrated soft-rock palette (Wurlitzer, strings, close-mic'd restraint) where that shows up most directly.
listen: upstream & here
1970
(They Long to Be) Close to YouThe Carpenters
2021
BlouseClairo
listen forPut on '(They Long to Be) Close to You' next to 'Blouse' — notice how both singers underplay big feelings with a controlled, almost conversational lower register instead of belting, letting the arrangement carry the emotional weight.
Al Green1970s · Soul / R&B / Gospel
Clairo has said her father raised her on classic soul singers including Al Green, and that early diet of warm, Hi Records-style analog soul feeds the loose, groove-forward production she and her collaborators favor on her more R&B-adjacent tracks.
listen: upstream & here
1971
Let's Stay TogetherAl Green
2019
BagsClairo
listen forListen to the unhurried, slightly behind-the-beat groove of 'Let's Stay Together,' then 'Bags' — both let a simple chord vamp breathe under a conversational, intimate vocal instead of chasing a big pop hook.