Coco & Clair Clair sound like somebody gave a report deal to the band shaped by the cool ladies in your seventh grade class. They’re bizarre, bitchy, and a little bit self-obsessed, however they’re charming sufficient to drag all of it off. Coco’s brazen rap and Clair’s hushed vocals have a childlike high quality, accompanied by noisy manufacturing and kooky lyrics in regards to the energy of friendship. Since forming in 2014, the band has risen to fame off slyly addictive singles like “Knife Play,” “Crushcrushcrush,” and the viral hit “Fairly.” The duo’s debut full size album, Horny, continues within the vein of those tracks, melding the aloof and the outlandish.
Coco and Clair Clair coalesce and subvert tendencies with ease. Their music has the ethereal beats of cloud rap, the breathy vocals and reverb of dream pop, and the Auto-Tune and genuinely humorous songwriting of hyperpop. On Horny, the pair works with much more sounds and a variety of collaborators, together with Lagos-based rapper Deto Black and NYC indie band Porches. This experimentation is promising, however Horny shines brightest when it builds on the duo’s strengths, making a playful temper that appears designed to welcome new listeners into their all-star clique.
On Horny, the pair sings again and again about being hotter and cooler than everybody they know with out managing to alienate anybody. They appear flawless from all angles, they insist on “Tbtf”; on “Pop Star” they brag about being paid to point out as much as events of their pajamas. Everybody needs to be them, everybody needs to get with them. It’s a cliché, however the silliness makes their pose really feel unique and real, inviting us to dwell vicariously by way of their inflated confidence. The report’s upbeat ambiance encourages a bodily response, asking followers to bop, sing alongside, or snicker out loud. Extra lackadaisical songs corresponding to “8 Am” or “Love Me” weaken the album not as a result of they’re dangerous however as a result of they really feel misplaced.
The duo’s cheeky self-obsession interprets right into a boredom round romance: They solely have time for one another. A number of songs handle males who can’t sustain with them—they’re ghosting Tinder matches and swerving exes who’re nonetheless obsessed. “He wanna sync as much as my interval/In the meantime he’s saved on my telephone as ‘fool,’” Coco raps on “Unhealthy Lil Vibe.” Horny looks like listening to the funniest, most assured folks at a celebration making enjoyable of everybody else in attendance as a result of they only can’t sustain. “Realest bitches within the room all the time, me and Clair,” Coco quips. Regardless of their harshness, Coco and Clair Clair have surprisingly healthful intentions. Horny is an ode to 2 greatest associates in opposition to the world, discovering a approach to make it work when they’re leagues above everybody round them.
