Songs Like Clairo: 15 Artists and Songs to Listen to Next
There is something very specific about wanting to find music that feels like Clairo without necessarily wanting to find someone who sounds exactly like Clairo.
If you love her music, you might be looking for intimate vocals, warm production, slightly strange chord choices, songwriting that feels almost uncomfortably close, or music that can sit quietly in the background until one lyric suddenly makes you stop what you're doing.
That feeling exists far beyond one genre. Some of the artists closest to it come from indie pop, alternative R&B, folk, bedroom pop, soul and music that doesn't fit particularly well into any of those categories.
So rather than giving you fifteen Clairo copies, these are songs and artists I would explore if you love Clairo and want to find something new.
1. Men I Trust
If what you love about Clairo is the softness, start with Men I Trust.
Their music has this incredibly relaxed quality where nothing seems to be fighting for your attention. The vocals sit gently inside the production, the bass is often doing more than you initially realize, and the songs somehow feel nostalgic even when you're hearing them for the first time.
Start with: “Show Me How”
This is particularly good for the Sling side of a Clairo listener, especially if you're drawn to music that feels warm, understated and slightly removed from time.
2. Faye Webster
Faye Webster and Clairo don't make identical music, but I think there is a huge overlap in the way their songs can feel conversational rather than performed at you.
Faye's writing has an almost casual honesty to it. She can say something devastating without making a giant dramatic moment out of it, which somehow makes the lyric hit harder.
Start with: “Kingston”
If you're drawn to Clairo because her music feels personal without becoming overly polished emotionally, Faye Webster makes sense as the next stop.
3. Dijon
Dijon is where I'd send someone who likes the intimacy of Clairo but wants the production to get stranger.
His music can feel incredibly close and incredibly messy at the same time. Vocals distort, instruments bleed together, and moments that would normally be cleaned up become part of the emotional texture of the record.
Start with: “Many Times”
There is a human quality to his production that I love. You can almost feel the room around the song.
4. The Marías
If you like the dreamier and more sensual side of alternative pop, The Marías are an easy recommendation.
Their music moves between indie pop, psychedelia, Latin influences and alternative R&B without sounding like it is consciously trying to combine genres. Everything exists inside the same hazy universe.
Start with: “No One Noticed”
The production is gorgeous, but what makes their music work for me is how effortless it feels.
5. Blood Orange
Blood Orange is a perfect next step if you're interested in artists who use nostalgia without simply recreating old music.
Dev Hynes pulls from R&B, funk, indie, electronic music and pop while creating something that feels completely identifiable as Blood Orange.
Start with: “Champagne Coast”
If your favorite thing about Clairo is the world surrounding the songs rather than one specific genre, there is a lot to explore here.
6. Ravyn Lenae
Ravyn Lenae's voice alone is enough reason to listen.
Her music can move between alternative R&B, soul, pop and experimental production while remaining incredibly light on its feet. There is a softness to it without the music ever feeling passive.
Start with: “Love Me Not”
This is one I'd recommend if you want something slightly more R&B leaning while keeping the intimacy that probably brought you to Clairo in the first place.
7. Omar Apollo
Omar Apollo makes sense on this list because his music doesn't stay in one place for very long.
There are records that lean toward R&B, others toward alternative pop, soul, funk or guitar-driven music. What connects them is his voice and the emotional directness of the writing.
Start with: “Evergreen”
If you're someone who cares more about how a song makes you feel than what genre you're technically listening to, you'll probably understand the appeal immediately.
8. Mk.gee
Mk.gee is one of the most interesting places to go if the production itself is what you pay attention to.
There is something warped and almost physically textured about his music. The guitar sounds don't always behave like guitars, the vocals can feel distant and close simultaneously, and the entire record can sound like you're remembering something rather than listening to it happen.
Start with: “Alesis”
This is less “sounds like Clairo” and more “there is a good chance the same part of your brain will enjoy this.”
Which is a much better way to discover music anyway.
9. Japanese Breakfast
Japanese Breakfast brings more indie rock and pop into the equation while maintaining the emotional specificity that makes this whole corner of music so addictive.
The songwriting can be intimate without being small, and there is often much more happening sonically than the first listen reveals.
Start with: “Be Sweet”
If you want something brighter without losing the emotional depth, this is a good direction to go.
10. Steve Lacy
Steve Lacy exists somewhere between R&B, funk, indie rock, pop and whatever Steve Lacy feels like doing.
That's why he belongs here.
The similarity isn't necessarily that his songs sound like Clairo. It's that both artists have a recognizable musical identity that survives even when the genre shifts underneath them.
Start with: “Dark Red”
This is also a great rabbit hole if you're interested in artists whose production feels deeply connected to their personality.
11. Alice Phoebe Lou
Alice Phoebe Lou is a beautiful recommendation for people drawn to the gentler and more organic side of Clairo's music.
There is a looseness to her records that makes them feel lived in rather than manufactured, and her voice can carry an enormous amount of emotion without needing a huge production underneath it.
Start with: “Witches”
Put this on when you want music that feels like sunlight coming through a window at approximately 4:37 p.m.
Very specific, but you'll understand.
12. Arlo Parks
Arlo Parks makes incredibly intimate music without making intimacy feel fragile.
Her songwriting often feels observant, like she's noticing the small details surrounding an emotion instead of simply naming the emotion itself. That quality is probably what makes her such a natural recommendation for Clairo listeners.
Start with: “Eugene”
This is especially good if lyrics are the thing that usually determine whether you fall in love with an artist.
13. Beabadoobee
If you want to move slightly more toward guitars, Beabadoobee is an obvious place to go.
Her catalog moves between bedroom pop, indie rock and alternative music while maintaining a melodic softness that makes the transition feel natural.
Start with: “the perfect pair”
There is also a similar sense of an artist evolving publicly rather than remaining attached to the sound that first introduced them to listeners.
14. Montell Fish
Montell Fish sits in a darker emotional space than a lot of this list, but I think the overlap exists in the intimacy.
His music often feels almost claustrophobically personal, with sparse production allowing the emotional weight of the vocals to carry the record.
Start with: “Hotel”
If you're looking for the late-night version of this musical universe, go here.
15. Selina
Okay, yes, this is me.
But I'm including myself for an actual reason.
I've spent years struggling to explain what genre my music belongs to because different songs pull from alternative pop, R&B, electronic music and whatever else I'm listening to or feeling at the time. I eventually stopped trying to force all of it into one category and started caring much more about whether something felt like me.
My song “Tender” recently ended up on Spotify's POLLEN editorial playlist, a playlist built around music that crosses genre boundaries, which felt strangely appropriate after years of having no idea which genre box to check.
If you came here because you love intimate, genre-fluid alternative music, I think “Tender” is probably the place in my catalog I'd send you first.
Start with: “Tender”
More Artists Like Clairo
If you've made it this far, the larger pattern is probably obvious.
The best artists to listen to after Clairo aren't necessarily artists recreating her sound. They're artists creating music with a similar intimacy, curiosity and willingness to let different influences exist together.
Start with Men I Trust if you want something dreamy. Go to Faye Webster if songwriting is what you care about most. Try Dijon or Mk.gee if you want the production to get stranger. Ravyn Lenae and Omar Apollo can take you further into R&B and soul, while Beabadoobee and Japanese Breakfast move you toward guitars.
And if you want something you haven't heard before, you can try mine.
That's the fun part of looking for “artists like” somebody you already love. The goal isn't actually to find another version of them.
It's to use something familiar as the doorway into something you didn't know you were looking for.