The inseparable duo of Coco & Clair Clair are back with their new album, Girl, which came together after touring and experiencing the euphoric rush of new romance. Rather than shying away, they leaned in and penned songs that got intimate without letting go of the playful spunk, ambition, and swagger that defined their early work. After writing the tracks within weeks, they traveled between Amsterdam and Joshua Tree to push the project to completion with Raven Artson, where the pop-rap pair dared themselves to take bigger risks — including making a rock song, unearthing old beats, and getting more real in their lyricism. Put simply, the result is stunning. There’s an even greater sense of confidence that runs through all nine songs, buoyed by colorful, head-nodding production. Between odes to best friends, their first real love song, and uplifting bangers, Coco and Clair have demonstrated that vulnerability can still bump.
“We were writing about our relationships, referencing and incorporating lyrics we had written years ago — lyrics previously put aside for being too vulnerable or confessional,” Coco and Clair say. “We were experimenting with a style of production that felt more refined, polished, intentional, and intimate. We embraced the tension between that new approach and the characteristic qualities that propelled us early on: our resourcefulness, boastfulness, and flamboyance — all virtues of femininity and girlhood as much as they are tropes of masculinity. We listened to music that we felt exuded that same tension; Saint Etienne, Brandy, Everything but the Girl, Lana Del Rey, Club 8, Milky, and Madonna were huge inspirations both sonically and visually.
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“We entered this new phase as closer friends and collaborators — more in tune with each other and ourselves, with newfound access to parts of our creative psyches that we hadn’t yet brought into Coco & Clair Clair,” they continue. “We worried less but cared more, which felt powerfully feminine.” Below, Coco & Clair Clair gave us a complete breakdown of every song on Girl.
“Martini”
CLAIR CLAIR: This is actually one of the first songs we wrote for the album. We were in a new studio space that was more of a party spot. It had stripper poles and couches, and you could smoke inside, but we ended up locking ourselves away in a room off to the side and just listened to beats for hours until we had a list of ones we wanted to try writing to. Even though we had absolutely no idea what the new project was going to be, we were immediately drawn to this beat because it didn’t have the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure that we’re used to working with, which can get boring as both a listener and a writer. We wanted to make a more simple, stripped-down song with less repetition and generic pop qualities — we had been listening to “Stargirl Interlude” by the Weeknd and Lana Del Rey and liked the idea of having a song with only verses and no real chorus — and that’s how “Martini” was born.
COCO: I’ve been told this song has a high “replay value.”
“Kate Spade”
COCO: In this exact moment in time, this song is our magnum opus, in my opinion. When we weren’t even finished with the song, we knew it was a hit. I think it’s so good because it came from deep within us. I listened to the song so much that I gave myself a three-week break, and when I heard the master again for the first time, I burst into tears. It’s just that good.
“Gorgeous International Really Lucky”
COCO: This beat gives the Radio Dept. Shoutout to them! Very cute title on this gem. Claire’s vocals are so icy and smooth on this song. I love it. I had to rerecord my parts probably the most for this song because I couldn’t get my tone right. The outro is everything.
CLAIR CLAIR: I think this might be the closest thing we have to a real “love song.” Coco will tell you I’ve always been very anti-love song because I was worried about seeming too corny or babyish, but what can I say? Love was in the air.
“Our House”
CLAIR CLAIR: Before we began working on Girl, we wanted to make an album full of cover songs and had planned on “Our House” being one of them. It’s such a perfect song; it’s simple, sweet, catchy, and thoughtful. Unfortunately, we were advised against making the covers album, but since we were really excited about it and because we always perform some cover at our shows, it only felt right to include at least one on the new album. We were considering doing a Carole King song or maybe even a cover of “Crimson and Clover,” but when we found this beat and realized the melody for “Our House” worked so well over it, we knew we had to do it. On top of all of that, I think we both just really love and connect with this song.
COCO: The last song is a love song, but this is the love song. The ending gives me chills. Also, my second time singing a whole song with Claire! Felt so special to record this one together. I would say she is the mastermind behind this one through and through, and I’m so happy I followed her lead.
“Everyone But You”
COCO: At first this song was called “Hole” for the longest time because we didn’t know what the hell to call it. We just kept saying we’re in our Hole bag — we’re in our Courtney Love era! I don’t think either one of us has ever listened to her music.
CLAIR CLAIR: I wrote a song about six or seven years ago that Coco always really loved, and we ended up using the chorus from it on this song. Girl felt like the perfect time to finally put the lyrics to good use. Generally speaking, Coco’s interest in and support of the older song had a huge impact on my approach to songwriting on this new album. I felt more confident exploring, sharing, and being open to any and every idea that came to mind. And that’s a great example of what makes this project so special; our friendship, comfortability, and trust in each other.
“Bitches Pt. 2” (feat. Marjorie -W.C. Sinclair)
CLAIR CLAIR: What can I say… we had to run this one back.
COCO: We needed to get some things off our chest.
“My Girl”
CLAIR CLAIR: “My Girl” is a song that’s an ode to loyal friends everywhere who back you up no matter what — whether you’re right or wrong, happy or sad, ready to party or ready to crawl in a hole and die. Everyone needs a friend like that, and Coco is definitely mine. If she hates you, I hate you. End of discussion!
COCO: What she said! My verses were inspired by Miss Clair Clair, the Millionaires, UGK, and one loser.
“Graceland”
COCO: Guess who’s the bald-headed bandit!
“Aggy”
CLAIR CLAIR: Epic little “Aggy…” This song is a melting pot of so many different ideas and demos. Coco made the beat a few years ago, and my chorus was also written a while back, but to a different beat of her’s. We always have fun revisiting older unused work and testing out new and old ideas with them. We did a lot of that on this album. I think this was the last song we finished for Girl because we kept tweaking it for days and days. I remember feeling really obsessive about it, probably because we had spent the week prior finishing the rest of the album, and I needed this track to be the perfect finishing touch before I could close the chapter. We both had a ton of ideas and kept trying alternate melodies, flows, effects on our voices, etc. until we felt like it was just right, and then we played it on loop for days.
COCO: I made a very sparse version of this beat like five years ago, and it was saved in garage band as “Love is torture” — don’t even remember what the hell was going on back then, but it was so amazing to build this song out to what it is now with my true loves. If I had to rename the beat now, it would be “Love is back.”
