Pass the Aux 007: Immunity by Clairo
Pass the Aux 007: Immunity by Clairo
sunset rays to soothe, mend & heal
Hey, I’m Brandon and welcome to mint\brand – my weekly canvas to be human, explore my brand + music obsessions & share them with you.
In Pass the Aux, I spotlight my favorite records worth savoring from start to finish. Each issue ends with an amuse-bouche of new (& old) heat that I can’t stop listening to.
If, like me, you’re spending this morning refreshing (or trying actively to not refresh) Twitter or other news sources I thought I’d share with you one of my favorite albums of all time to help pass and decorate the time over the next 24-48 hours.
It’s so comforting, so mellow, and it’s what I’ve had on all this past week and this morning to keep myself sane. I hope it can bring about a few quiet moments of sanity for you as well.
Listening notes: wrapping yourself in a warm blanket fresh out the dryer; a candlelit morning sipping coffee watching the rain fall outside
Perfect for: the next big life transition; driving during the magic hour where you’re the main character
I love this album because…
It’s one of the most heartfelt, cozy, and reliable listens in the arsenal. Claire Cottrill has the makings of a generational talent – she’s pioneered a brand new genre, oft referred to as bedroom pop, but there’s so much more to her sound than that.
Credit on this record should also go to Rostam – a founding member of Vampire Weekend, he’s a generational talent in his own right, producing for the likes of Frank Ocean, Charli XCX, Haim, Lykke Li – and is responsible for the expansive, genre-bending sounds on Immunity.
What stands out most to me in Immunity is the consistency and versatility Clairo displays throughout a diverse landscape of new & familiar sounds, thanks to Rostam’s masterful production. Throughout the record, you’ll encounter tracks with bits and pieces of sounds you might otherwise find in a Haim or Vampire Weekend record (see: the guitar riffs on Impossible, North & Softly). Danielle Haim herself even features on the drums!
On Feel Something, the song envelopes you in a booming bass, which evolves into an R&B tinged hi hat progression at the 0:54 mark that gets you into your feels the way a Bryson Tiller or Frank Ocean track might. With Closer to You, you almost want a 070 Shake or BANKS feature as the production lends itself so well to their hard-hitting version of alt-R&B.
Bags is the signature Clairo sound you might be familiar with. Between this and Sofia, you get the quintessential distorted, lo-fi, bedroom pop ballads that take the everything you love from a Tame Impala track, but make it uniquely sorrowful and nostalgic in a way that only Clairo could. And before you leave, make sure you enjoy Softly with your next morning cup of coffee. It’s got the perfect hip Brooklyn coffee shop vibe that’s ideal for this time of year.
Most of all, I hope having this album play out from start to end (multiple times, maybe?) can bring you some comfort, warmth, and peace today and this week. I’ve been going through it as of late, and it’s been a good reminder how helpful music can be in helping process and experience our darker emotions and thoughts when nothing seems to be going our way. Sending you all good energy 🖤
Decorating time with…
Interstellar Love (feat. Leon Bridges) by The Avalanches [⚡️ new] | 3:39, Alternative – A soulful, euphoric tune off The Avalanches’ upcoming album We Will Always Love You that I can’t wait to get my hands on. Other features on the album include Blood Orange, Jamie xx & Denzel Curry. (Music | Spotify)
Steeeam by Shelly [⚡️ new] | 2:51, Indie – Very timely – Shelly is a new band formed by Clairo, Claud, Josh Mehling & Noa Frances Getzug. This song feels like a bottle of rosé you can sip on all day at the park with friends. (Music | Spotify)
Halloween IX by RL Grime [⚡️ new] | 1:03:12, Trap – To get the full benefits of Halloween IX, the proprietor of this newsletter recommends that you, the reader, watch the livestream performance that was the closest thing to a live show we’ve been able to get in 2020. Inside you’ll find edits, new releases, and mixes of DROELOE, Tyler, The Creator, Drake, The Weeknd, BRONSON, and Pop Smoke (Soundcloud)
Albums I’ve had on: Believe by Anna of the North, Positions by Ariana Grande, Apart by LÉON, Loving by Loving (🔥), Parachute by Petit Biscuit, Home by Romare (🔥), Love Goes by Sam Smith, Made in Lagos by Wizkid (🔥)
The Sofia Coppola Uniform
When considering someone’s sense of style or their own personal fashion, the conversation can often center around what values or status they are attempting to signal. Personally, I’ve always been drawn to this idea of ‘art and armor’ – for me, the clothes I wear are a way to convey emotions, thoughts, and feelings in a way that words can’t quite capture – that is, through the medium of clothing.
What are people wearing and why? What dreams are coded into their clothes? Her films are about the interior lives of teenage girls and lonely women; they are about freedom and being trapped, beauty and the cage. In Coppola's work, self-presentation is both art and armor: It's a way of setting the exact right distance between you and everyone else, a way of saying what you otherwise can't or won't say.
Nike Design Exploration: Every Stitch Considered
Nike went off on this one. The brand new silhouettes they debuted in their Every Stitch Considered collection is everything I want. Modern, yet classic at the same time. Avant-garde, but familiar. Chic, elegant, and stunning. I want it all.
Every Stitch Considered is the new spirit of luxury, embodied in old-world craft. Driven by a belief that movement, art, and technique are the cornerstones of athleticism, ESC uses a human touch to create a wearable exploration into sport and self. Luxury is timeless and enduring, remaining relevant in every era, through every movement.
A Glacial Pace
This was a remarkably well done interview from Atmos – previewing Maggie’s upcoming release of Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011–2016 as a follow up to 2019’s Heard It in a Past Life. As meteoric as her rise may seem to us, this conversation dove into the impossibly slow pace of creation that actually lies under the surface – and how unnatural the fast pace of the industry today is on the creative process.
I think that the most important thing to me in art is to reflect the human experience. And the reality is: Being human is really messy. And it’s not perfect, and it’s not polished…I can’t imagine how I’m going to feel when this comes out. I’m looking forward to my sense of imposter syndrome fading a little bit. It feels like standing in front of my audience naked—but I was always naked. It feels like my audience and I are having a full conversation. Because once you’ve heard this, there’s nothing left for me to tell you. It is the whole story.
Happy listening,
Brandon