Doubling down on the sounds from their debut album, SEXY, which released last fall, Coco & Clair Clair are back with the announcement of their next studio album Girl. Set to be out on August 30th, the duo have also dropped their new single “Aggy,” granting us a cheeky new track to add to our summer playlist. With the nine-track album on its way, what can we expect to hear from the Atlanta musical duo? From playful track titles such as “Martini”, “Kate Spade”, and “Gorgeous International Really Lucky”, the musicians are leveling up their game both sonically and visually, as the album is said to explore their vulnerabilities (in their own tongue-in-cheek way, naturally.)

Below, V goes behind-the-scenes of the album cover shoot and chat it up with Coco & Clair Clair about their latest single “Aggy” and how they tapped into their “baby girl” energy for this new body of work.

V Magazine: From the track list of Girl, you chose the song “Aggy” as the lead single to introduce this new era. Why did you end up going with this track?

Coco: “Aggy” was the last song we finished for the album. It’s also a song that I think for a long time was up in the air for us for multiple reasons, i.e. not yet knowing what sound we were crafting with this new album and what direction we were headed with it. But much like what happened with Sexy’s singles (we dropped the first and last song that we made for the album as lead singles), it felt natural once “Aggy” was done to make it the lead single for Girl. It really was the bow to the gift that is this album.

Clair Clair: Yeah, we weren’t totally sure if this beat would make it onto the album. Coco actually made it herself years ago and I wrote the chorus to a different beat of her’s a while back, but we’ve often been tempted by both and have wanted to use them. Once Raven got involved everything fell into place; he spruced up the production, Coco and I both referenced some older unused lyrics, and then we basically freestyled the rest. Like Coco said, it immediately fit right in with the other songs and felt like the perfect final touch to Girl. We knew it needed to be the song that introduced our fans to this new project.

V: It was mentioned that you reincorporated lyrics that were once put aside because you felt they were too vulnerable for your previous musical eras. Why did you think it was the right time to bring some of those moments back into the fold for Girl?

CC: I think there are a few reasons why; timing, headspace, maturity. I was really nervous to dive into this project because I felt like I didn’t have anything to offer, but that quickly went away once we started writing and recording. We split our time between Amsterdam and California and took extra measures to ensure that everything felt honest, fun, and natural – from the music we were making to the way we spent our free time – and not stressful or forced. Our lives have changed a lot since we released Sexy and acknowledging the changes and ways in which we’ve grown was very freeing and inspiring. There was an unspoken shared focus on trusting ourselves rather than proving ourselves, so it just felt right to be a little more vulnerable and express things in our songs that we might normally reserve for our private lives. Whether that meant writing about our boyfriends or showing each other lyrics we wrote pre Coco & Clair Clair, we were open to everything. It’s interesting to look back on because I didn’t really notice it happening in real time, but in the past we probably would have immediately shut some of these ideas down or cringed at the idea of admitting to certain feelings in a song.

V: Talk to us about the album shoot—what was the concept behind the visuals?

CC: We’ve always tried to keep our visuals quite natural and true to who we are, so we knew early on that we wanted the photoshoot itself to be pretty relaxed and bare bones. In terms of styling and the clothes we wanted to wear, having an album name like Girl definitely informed a lot of the decisions that we made. There was an energy of being little girls playing in our mom’s closets, but we didn’t want anything to actually look or feel too girly or childish. Instead, we wanted to explore different, more interesting tropes of girlhood – like the tension between sexiness and vulnerability or maturity and playfulness – and a lot of our references and inspiration came from people, places, and things that we felt emulated that. We were heavily influenced by early 2000s runway shows and pop stars as well as more current icons like Phoebe Philo and the Olsen twins. Funny enough, a few weeks after we finalized the album art, The Row previewed a new collection and there was an outfit almost identical to the one I wear on the cover.

V: In what ways do you think you have elevated your style in recent years?

C: I definitely think our style is maturing but our love to experiment with textures and silhouettes is still and always there. I can’t necessarily say I’ve consciously tried to elevate my style but I think the more we come into our own, the more elevated we naturally become across the board. It’s all about being comfortable with who you are and your choices.

CC: I agree, our style has matured a lot over the past few years probably thanks to some changes in our lifestyles – touring, moving to the suburbs, becoming more sure of ourselves, etc. I think mine has become a bit more refined and focused than it used to be. I’m pretty uniform now and tend to stay away from anything too trendy or flashy, especially in my personal life. But we’re both huge thrift and vintage shoppers so like Coco said we’re always playing with new ideas and trying things out. For me it’s all about comfort and self expression rather than looking sexy or attractive, though I warmly welcome any overlap.

V: With Girl and “Aggy” on the way, sure to be summer bops, what further musical endeavors can we expect for the fall season?

C: XO Tour Life <3