The conversation pit, an interior design feature for spacious living rooms, features sofas arranged in a U shape facing one another rather than facing technology, for the sole purpose of relaxing and chatting. They haven’t been popular since the 1970s. Tonight, Clairo turns London’s Eventim Apollo stage into one.
Her third album, 2024’s ‘
Charm’, pulls from that same period before the black mirror governed our living rooms; it radiates warmth, looking towards 70s soul, psychedelia and baroque pop for influence (most of this mood board features in the pre-show playlist). On the album’s respective tour, she does a stunning job of bringing that feel to the stage.
It’s not that Clairo is opposed to technology - she came up on the internet after all, and the popularity of ‘Charm’ track ‘Juna’ has been bolstered by TikTok - but it definitely feels like she’s fostering an environment where it isn’t the focus. An announcement requests no flash photography throughout, she performs wearing wired headphones (God, is that vintage now?); you could patronisingly call her an old soul but she connects too well with her largely gen z audience to ever be such.
So when she saunters on stage with her band - to sit down and have a drink while Wendy Rene’s ‘After Laughter (Comes Tears)’ plays - it’s to the kind of cheers usually reserved for the biggest pop stars in the world, but even in a theatre as elaborate as Hammersmith’s Apollo, nothing can shatter this illusion of intimacy.
Opening with ‘Nomad’, Clairo’s voice is much less delicate than on record, it’s richer and clearer, as are the band, who bring the album to life with ease. Tracks like ‘Thank You’ and ‘Add Up My Love’ almost enter 60s girl group territory, while the relaxed, jazzy ‘Terrapin’ and ‘Slow Dance’ are a cigar away from drawing room backdrop perfection.
While there’s an obvious preciousness to the quieter tracks that ‘Charm’ offers, there’s an even clearer yearn for Clairo’s bedroom pop days and exit from them on 2019’s ‘
Immunity’. When the guitars kick in on ‘North’, or the biggest singalong of the night, ‘Bags’, they aren’t necessarily presented with the same grit as they are on record, instead they sway more towards her current psych rock sound, suggesting it’s what she’s been searching for all along. Breakout single ‘4EVER’ is fed through the same machine, the wobbly synths replaced by droning keyboards and copious cowbell.
Putting the slow stuff in the first half works great, by the time ‘4EVER’ is ticked off the setlist, the crowd are itching for something to have a proper dance to, Clairo noticing that herself and mentioning it. A forewarned ‘surprise’ comes in the form of the live debut of ‘Steeeam’, one of two tracks released by her secret lockdown band Shelly, is well received by the super stans (maybe not as well as the Charli xcx guest appearance Laneway Festival got though, eh?) and kicks things back into gear for the final few songs.
No encore is a bold choice, but it’s not like Clairo isn’t a risk taker. After all, ‘Charm’ was self-released and ended up being her biggest album yet, even snagging her her first Grammy nom. The slow burn of recent singles ‘Sexy To Someone’ and ‘Juna’ have proved hits regardless of their aversion to practically every sound-biteable TikTok production trend, and they absolutely fly on stage. Clairo’s ‘Charm’ era is packed with lessons on how staying true to your own vision will always prevail in the end (2024’s artist motto, surely), and the tour is a masterclass in how to make a sit-down show not boring.
