While Clairo’s debut album, 2019’s Immunity, was co-written in part with Rostam Batmanglij, on her latest, the newly released Sling, she teamed up with Jack Antonoff. That connection allowed her to get acquainted with Lorde, who provided background vocals on the single “Blouse” (and in turn got Clairo to feature on her own “Solar Power“). In a Rolling Stone interview published last week, it was revealed that Lorde also contributed vocals to the Sling cut “Reaper,” and now that the album is out today, so too is the new Clairo/Lorde collaboration.
On the gentle folk-y tune, Clairo sings about the societal pressure she feels to become a mother: “I’m born to be somebody, then somebody comes from me / I’ll tell you about the Rabbit Moon and when to keep walking / I’ll spare you pain, I can feel my shame come through that door / I can’t f*ck it up if it’s not there at all.”
In the aforementioned Rolling Stone piece, Clairo said of working with people like Lorde and Antonoff, “It’s still really hard for me to wrap my head around these people giving me the time of day. Without that support, I don’t know if I would have been able to finish the record. And they like it, which is sick. They’re not bullsh*tting me. I’m just recently starting to accept it, because now I actually believe in this music.”
Listen to “Reaper” above.
Sling is out now via Fader Label/Republic Records. Get it here.