"Bags" by Clairo // Song Review

-


At the heart of it, "Bags" is one of the purest expressions of yearning, encapsulating Clairo's innate ability to freeze a moment in time and preserve fleeting feelings that seem so brief as they're happening, yet become forever immortalized through this song. "It's definitely about me learning to be comfortable in a place of the unknown," she said in a 2019 interview with Genius. She brings a sincerity and vulnerability to her songwriting that allows her to be completely open about her feelings, never holding anything back.

Recognizing the importance of savoring the mundane, simple details of falling in love is ultimately why this song holds such a special place in her discography. In this track, she opens up with full transparency about the things she left unsaid in an effort not to scare the other person away, even though she so badly wishes she could express the intensity of what she's truly feeling in those moments.

There's something so powerful in the simple, overwhelming desire to tell someone exactly how you feel about them, even when you're terrified of what might happen if you do. "Bags" grapples with the fear of losing the moment while still trying not to hide how she feels. 

"Can you see me? I'm waiting for the right time, I can't read you, but if you want, the pleasure's all mine," she sings in the chorus. "Can you see me using everything to hold back? I guess this could be worse, walking out the door with your bags".

"This song is definitely emphasizing us sitting on the couch, us not really talking about how we feel, us just existing together next to each other is way better than me expressing how I feel and it going sour," she added in her interview with Genius. "Just being next to you is a lot better than you walking out of the door and me being left along without this person."


"Bags" was the lead single off her 2019 debut album Immunity, and it ended up becoming one of the defining releases of her career thus far. The song was integral to the overarching narrative of the album and became a foundation for much of the work she would go on to make. In hindsight, it served as the first proper introduction to who Clairo is on both an artistic and personal level, as a young, independent artist just starting out. It does an incredible job of demonstrating her influences and where she draws from musically, with the second verse even featuring a clever allusion to Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You".

"Bags" also marked the first time Clairo opened up about her sexuality through her music, which is a deeply personal theme that has continued to shape much of her art. Immunity, in turn, stands as a real and raw depiction of the self‑discovery that comes with entering adulthood and finding your place in the world for the first time. A song like "Sophia" from her debut carries a similar weight in that way, mirroring much of the same emotional significance as "Bags".

In an interview with I-D soon after the song's release, Clairo said, "Before this record I wasn't really allowing myself to make music that felt this personal... I'm continuing to learn how to open myself up more." She continued, "That's also just growing as a person, maturing, and figuring out who you are. It's hard to figure out who you are and what your songs are about when that all happens to you very quickly at 19."
Clairo is one of the pioneers of the mid/late 2010s dreamy bedroom‑pop sound, rooted in a self‑made DIY approach to making music without much of a professional or mainstream label feel. She began releasing homemade demos on SoundCloud and Bandcamp in her early teen years. By the time Immunity came out, she had already spent several years building a reputation for her deeply diaristic and intimate songwriting, with early tracks like "Pretty Girl" and "Flaming Hot Cheetos" going viral - and the rest is history from there. While her sound and stylistic choices have absolutely evolved since then, "Bags" will forever remain one of the defining songs of her career.

"The older I get, I'm just trying to embrace every side of me and it's made me feel a lot closer to myself. Sometimes I have felt like I was just this person I didn't even know because I wasn't allowing myself to connect with the things that I can't deny, whether it’s my health or my sexuality," Clairo added in her 2019 I-D interview. "But I've come to realize that a lot of what makes me weak actually has made me so much stronger and that's what the whole record, to me, embodies."

Check out more from my song of the week series here + more of my reviews of Clairo's music linked here and below. ☆ Thanks for reading!




Photo Credit: Hart Leshkina, Clairo, FADER


Related Posts:





the record by boygenius // Album Review

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT by Billie Eilish // Album Review







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

"Just A Girl" by No Doubt // Song Review

-
Image
"Just A Girl" was a massive breakthrough moment for No Doubt and became a defining anthem for the group, exuding a strong feminist message - even though it was never necessarily intended to be. It was the lead single off No Doubt's third album Tragic Kingdom and echoed many of the feelings Gwen Stefani was experiencing, with her own personal perspective at the forefront for the first time.  This song marked the beginning of a new era for the band in many ways as well. "Just A Girl" was the first song Gwen wrote on her own without her brother, Eric, who was a founding member of the band and the primary songwriter for their music prior to his departure from No Doubt earlier that year. She co-wrote the song with the band's guitarist Tom Dumont, who said in a 1996 interview with  Backstage  that Gwen and the rest of the band taking creative control led their sound and artistic output in a new direction than they were headed prior when Eric was mainly writing ...
Read more

"Nice To Each Other" by Olivia Dean // Song Review

-
Image
With "Nice To Each Other", Olivia Dean adds a beautiful layer of hope to her sophomore album The Art of Loving . The track captures the in‑between phase of a relationship, the space where things may not be long‑term, but still carry meaning and joy in the moments shared together. Modern love is represented with a light and airy approach, which shines through both in the music itself and in the attitude she conveys in her performance. She embraces the idea that casual relationships can still be meaningful, regardless of how long they last or how traditional they may seem. "Nice To Each Other" celebrates these fleeting yet impactful connections, balancing emotional depth with lighthearted charm. The vivid imagery, like quick getaways to Italy and the overall chaos of a whirlwind romance like this, centers the song's overall breezy tone.  In the second verse, Olivia sings, "I don't know where the switches are, or where you keep the cutlery, and I'll ...
Read more

"Can't Get You Out Of My Head" by Kylie Minogue // Song Review

-
Image
Released as the lead single for her eight studio album, Fever , Kylie Minogue 's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" signaled a massive shift in pop music. The song's dance pop elements threaded with an ultra-modern approach to disco in a way that felt effortlessly cool and simple, yet still sleek and refined. It revived the dance pop genre for a new generation of listeners, proving how powerful minimalism and mood could be in shaping the sound of the new century. It remains a true cornerstone of early‑2000's pop perfection. The track was written and produced by Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis. Cathy is responsible for co-writing some of the most timeless pop songs ever made, including "Toxic" by Britney Spears and "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry . Rob would go on to collaborate with Kylie throughout much of Fever and beyond, as well as with artists like Sophie Ellis‑Bextor and others who helped define the era's sound. "It was a very fluid...
Read more

"the 1" by Taylor Swift // Song Review

-
Image
The message and storyline of "the 1" by Taylor Swift is present in so many of the songs she went on to write in the years to follow. This was the last song written for  Folklore , which was a surprise release in July 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. She wrote "the 1" and "hoax" in the matter of a few hours, just before she was about to submit the final album. The songs that serve as bookends for  Folklore   are so intricately linked together through their shared narrative and yearning for a version of herself and her life that's gone. It is so warm and nostalgic, written as if she is having a conversation with someone she hasn't seen in a long time, an old friend or an old lover that didn't work out. "I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit, been saying 'yes' instead of 'no'," is truly one of the greatest album openers of all time and beautifully reflects the new chapter of her career that was about t...
Read more

"All I Wanted" by Paramore // Song Review

-
Image
Closing out Paramore 's 2009 album Brand New Eyes , "All I Wanted" stands out as a defining moment in the band's discography. It is a transcendent and emotional ballad that stands apart from much of their pop punk sound up to that point. If anything, "All I Wanted" is undeniable proof that Hayley Williams is one of the greatest living vocalists. The sheer intensity of her voice, the way the emotions build until the song's explosive end - it's raw, powerful, and perfectly conveys the depth of feeling behind its message. Originally titled "All I Wanted Was You", the song nearly didn’t make the album. Hayley wrote in a diary entry published in the Brand New Eyes deluxe release, "Just an 'emo' kind of day & I'm proud of the obscurity in the lyrics while still remaining pretty personal."  Written alongside Taylor York, the song emerged from an isolating time in Hayley's life. "I wish there was an actual story...
Read more