Clairo Believes in Charm as an Aesthetic and Spiritual Principle

This month, Cottrill will put out her third album, “Charm,” a rich and seductive collection of groovy pop songs that feel indebted to Motown, Hall & Oates, Northern soul, and the sorts of long-gone regional record companies whose releases are now dotingly preserved by reissue labels such as the Numero Group and Light in the Attic. Cottrill made some of “Charm” at Electric Lady, in the West Village, and at Allaire Studio, which is situated on a mountaintop near Woodstock, New York, overlooking the Ashokan Reservoir and the Catskill Mountains. It was produced by Leon Michels, a founding member of Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and the leader of El Michels Affair, a psychedelic-soul band that has backed the rappers Raekwon, Black Thought, and Freddie Gibbs. Cottrill wanted the record to feel playful, buoyant, and a little out of time. “I was really inspired by the silliness of Harry Nilsson, and the vocals of Margo Guryan and Blossom Dearie. Those three people are all really great songwriters, and their music is very touching, but it also never feels like they’re taking themselves too seriously,” she told me recently.