Electric Ballroom, LondonThe young US singer’s introspective tunes inspire devotion from fans, but her unshowy style is not best suited to the role of indie-rock frontwoman
Bedroom-pop star Clairo is a study in shy charm. On the second of two gigs in
London – this extra night was added to her
UK tour after the first date sold out – the 21-year-old
American Claire Cottrill occasionally clasps the hands of the adoring front row. Just as often, she’ll back away from her microphone to lurk in shadow and play guitar. There isn’t even a spotlight to run from: everything is lit only in fuzzy pink or peachy gold. If she says anything meaningful between songs, only the first few rows can hear it.
Somewhere inside this diffident contemporary musician, however, is a core of steel and a level of outgoing ambition that allowed her to put songs up on the internet throughout her teenage years. Drill down into Clairo’s SoundCloud and among her embryonic originals, you can find covers of everything from the super-indie Beat Happening to contemporary bard (Sandy) Alex G, via the in-your-face digitals of PC Music’s Hannah Diamond. Last year she toured arenas with Dua Lipa and this summer she guested with Khalid. Next year she supports Tame Impala in the US. For now, she is the unstarry star of her own show, with more than 338.6m combined global streams (as of last August)”.