Claud is singer and songwriter Claud Mintz. Their album Super Monster is their first LP, as well as the first album released by Phoebe Bridgers’s Saddest Factory. A lot of firsts there.
Claud is currently based in Brooklyn but is originally from the North Shore area of Chicago. There are few references to their Chicago-metro area roots on this album (see, “Jordan”), but this album really finds its home in quiet bedrooms and earphones held tightly against one’s ears. Small, private places where the vulnerability that inspires their sound can be exposed and the muscles of their grooves can relax and find their flow.
Super Monster is going to remind you of shades of Haim, but there is a certain prickly quality to the songwriting that hints at some punkier, wryer influences. However, like a lot of people in their generation, Claud seems most fascinated by the pop and RnB of the late ’90s and ’00s, and attempts to resize these sounds to fit a space approximately the size of a twin-mattress shoved into the corner. While grounded in that enclosure, Super Monster feels like a font of potential, that projects one’s minds and emotions out into the world in search of its destiny.
The obvious standout on Super Monster are the vibey skip and twirl of “Soft Spot” with its cooing chorus and the heavy-lidded, body-heat warmed beat. There is also the chirpy and romantic shimmer of “Gold,” the sunny, acid-washed slink of “Cuff Your Jeans,” and the temperate, slow gliding wramp and ripple of “Ana” featuring the ever-delightful Nick Hakim.
A lot of the subject matter on this album addresses Claud’s attempts to process various relationships they have been in, both platonic and romantic, both inspiring and degrading. The homey vibe of the album is perfect for reflecting on one’s extroversions and moments of vulnerability with others. Think of it as faux-fur-lined anti-chamber where you can rest and repose and allow your thoughts to slosh around inside your head like the tapioca pearls in a cub of boba tea. Maybe you’ll stumble across a breakthrough concerning your past relations. Maybe you’ll just have some time to relax. Either is equally valid.
You can stream Super Monster below via Bandcamp:
Buy Super Monster on CD and Vinyl here.
