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1, 2, 3
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
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Hi everyone, BRATthony Greeentano
here,
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the internet's busiest music nerd.
And it's time for a review
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of this new record "Brat" from Charli xcx.
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Here we have the 6th official full-length
studio album from pop-singer and
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songwriter Ms Charli xcx.
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One of my most anticipated albums of
the year, why?
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Well, over the past decade in my eyes,
Charli has grown into one of the most
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creative, unique, and pioneering forces
in current day pop music.
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And her evolution has been interesting
to watch, to say the least.
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I'm not a fan of her early work,
truth be told, but
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today it serves as an interesting
reference point.
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Uh, for what she is doing on this
record.
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The "True Romance" and "Sucker" eras of
her career, uh, did bring some of
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her biggest hits and features to date,
that is true,
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but sonically, much of the music she was
dropping around this time wasn't...
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very daring or even deep.
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At best, you could say it was catchy
and of-the-time.
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Around the mid-2010s, though,
is when Charli's music
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really began to push boundaries.
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Crossing over creatively with writers and
producers from the
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up-and-coming PC music label.
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I'm talking people like Danny L Harle
and EASYFUN, A.G Cook,
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and the late SOPHIE,
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who at the time were gaining
quite the reputation for
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revitalizing a lot of Y2k-era pop
aesthetics but with a
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hyper-futuristic, jittery sound.
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And our first taste of this new direction
came in the form of
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Charli xcx's "Vroom Vroom" EP in 2016.
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Which some critics just did not know what
to make of at the time,
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and while it was my EP of the year
that year,
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I could still see how this would have
turned a lot of people off if they
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came into Charli's music having certain
expectations,
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given that she was a pop artist.
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Because "Vroom Vroom" in tone, is,
at points, kind of dark, and visceral
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and groovy in a weird way.
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Campy, too, with some tracks varying so
wildly from part to part that,
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uh, you could almost take what she was
doing here as, like, a joke or novelty.
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However, the tracks on this EP are
deadly serious.
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And were also a new, bold step for
pop music as well as in a hot moment,
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for both Charli and PC Music creatively.
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Because at this point, I think Charli became
the perfect conduit for what they were
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trying to channel this detailed and
retro-futuristic, reconstruction
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of 2000s pop music, that blur the lines
between the satirical,
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but also reverent.
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Meanwhile, Charli's creative chemistry
with A.G and SOPHIE
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allowed her, I think, to experiment more
and mature as a songwriter.
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Allowing her the freedom to drop
zany bangers as well as
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sleek-powerful anthems.
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Songs with strange structures, or very
unlikely features,
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A lot of these ideas and concepts were
more or less road-tested on
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the mixtape she dropped back in 2017,
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and then in my eyes, it was all
fully realized on her excellent 2019
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"Charli" record.
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Now, over the years, as Charli has
developed this new sound,
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her writing has offered more depth,
has become more personal and intimate,
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especially on her pandemic album,
"How I'm Feeling Now".
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But I think Charli's writing has grown
more conceptual, too.
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With her presentation as this posh,
English party girl on many of her songs
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has more or less become this exaggerated
character she plays into.
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However, in a way, Charli's instantly
recognizable sound and unique place
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in the pop landscape, uh, became both a
blessing and a curse at the dawn of the 2020s.
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Because her style had gone from
challenging to kind of definable
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with this newly-minted "hyperpop"
term that was being thrown onto everybody
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who sounded even vaguely like her or
100gecs.
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And she quickly went on to strip away
many of the "hyper" characteristics
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of her music on her next album, "Crash",
working with a totally new team of producers
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And while I can't deny the record does
feature some respectable hits,
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I have to ask: At what cost?
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Because "Crash" did very measurably have
quite a bit less character than
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anything that Charli had dropped
in recent years at the time
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Which brings us to today. Charli's
latest album cycle here, "BRAT".
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Where I think she's genuinely reconnecting
with the trajectory that has brought her
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to this point and made her a special artist
to begin with.
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Even EASYFUN and A.G Cook are back
in the mix on this production side,
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on a whole lot of tracks, uh, numerous
others too.
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There are even references to A.G Cook
on some of the lyrics to this record
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as quite a bit of meta-commentary
is going on as well.
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You can really tell that Charli is fully
embracing the impact she's had on pop music
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in recent years, and really using it as
more of a strength than a weakness
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that she can be pigeon holed into.
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And I think that's something she can
do confidently because
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her and A.G Cook aren't just merely
trying to, y'know,
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revive some kind of hyperpop trend on
this LP.
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I mean, for sure, Charli's goal and focus
is to give us this autotuned, bold,
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and hard-hitting homage to 2000s era
pop music,
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but this time around we have a refreshing
focus on dance-pop, on EDM from that era,
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on electropop from that era, club bangers
generally.
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With a pretty aggressive edge, making this
LP very worthy of the title "BRAT".
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Because this record is meant to be
danced to.
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And, at points, cry to.
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As I think Charli's writing is more mature
and thoughtful than it's ever been.
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For one, her party girl persona takes
a bit of a dark turn,
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or at least gets deflated a bit
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as she reveals that it's kind of a
mask,
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and that she doesn't always feel
like she's worthy of being there at the party
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or that her and the party are a bit
at odds.
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Meanwhile, "i think about it all the time"
sees Charli musing about whether or not
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she can continue her career in the way
she currently is,
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while also becoming a mother, which she
very clearly has interest in at some point.
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Skipping ahead here, it's also kind of
crazy how narratively, this contrasts so hard
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with her going back full into party mode
on the closing track, "365".
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Of course, there are notes of nostalgia
on this album, too, that is very much
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in line with tracks like "1999", most
notably on "Rewind",
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but this song specifically is more about
Charli missing the older aspects
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of her life before the fame.
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Between sticky choruses on this track,
she delivers her verses in this way that
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kinda comes off like, conflicted internal
monologue, or like
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she's musically journaling.
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There are lots of tracks on this thing too
that deal in love.
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But these songs narratively feel vastly
different from previous singles like
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"Good Ones", for example.
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Tracks where historically, Charli can be
seen running away from love
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or being a bit self-effacing and talking
about how she's fucking it all up.
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Instead, on songs such as the really
infectious
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singing "Talk talk to me!"
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as, uh, as well laughs
as the very cinematic
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singing "Everything is romantic"
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Yeah, Charli can be seen accepting
love and doing quite a few shoutouts
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to her fiancé George.
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But yes, between this and numerous nods
to wanting to have maybe a more normal
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life at some point, Charli really presents
some interesting internal conflicts
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throughout this album, which we also
hear as well on tracks where she is
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singing about things like friendship
and sharing the limelight with other women.
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I mean, historically Charli is very
pro-woman,
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especially when it comes to supporting
other artists with her music
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through features, through attention she
can throw their way with her creativity
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I mean, even look at the lyrics in the
music video to one of the big singles
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from this record, "360".
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That is the Charli that most fans
know and love.
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By that same token, there are
numerous songs on this record
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where she is being very unfiltered
and just admitting
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how, just, insecure and plagued with
fear she is sometimes.
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There's "Sympathy is a knife" where she
talks about, just, being so
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self-conscious around this other woman
that she wishes for
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a gun to shoot herself with.
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Which is context that some fans might
even miss if they're mostly wrapped up
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in the roaring bass and fantastic string
hits going on the dance beat.
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There's also "GIrl, so confusing" where
Charli sings about the difficulties
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of letting people in, and navigating
the music industry among other
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people who she may have a difficult
time connecting with,
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knowing how to trust.
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The song seems to be very specifically
about a single person who
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maybe she's been likened to by fans
but she doesn't fully see it.
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However, there's still a desire there
on some level to make the friendship
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or the connection work.
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Then the song "Von dutch" sees Charli
getting pretty aggressive and
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combative lyrically.
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Specifically in regards to someone who
doesn't seem to like her,
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maybe even is talking behind her back.
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And her response to that is, essentially,
this big anthemic "Fuck you" here.
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Where she's delivering some biting lyrics
about how this person may actually be
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nothing if it weren't for some
"little dance" they're doing.
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So, yeah, there are these intense
emotional peaks all over the album
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but the biggest bombshell of all of them
has to be the song, "So I".
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Which is very obviously a tribute to the
late great producer and songwriter SOHPIE
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who actually collaborated with Charli
quite a few times,
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so consistently, in fact, from an outside
perspective, I don't think any fan of either
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Charli or SOPHIE would have presumed
anything of them and their connection.
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Other than something along the lines of,
"Hey, they're collaborators, they have
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big respect for each other, they
love each other,
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they're probably friends,
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Charli, SOHPIE, SOPHIE, Charli,
name a more iconic duo-"
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But what Charli says on this track here
actually tells a very different story
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and is quite revealing in a way that
is actually pretty admirable.
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Because the angle of the song is,
yes, very sad, obviously,
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but it doesn't necessarily paint Charli
in the best light.
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And, again, it's painfully sad and
has made me reflect on the tone
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that tributes in art or whatever
other medium often take.
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They usually end up being less about
the tributed person
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and more about the tributer's love and
adoration.
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"Look how great I think this person
is, who we all think is great."
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And Charli's song here does contain
quite a bit of praise for SOHPIE
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that's true, don't get me wrong.
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But a lot of the track is actually an
admittance on Charli's part, with her
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pretty much saying, "I was a shitty
friend."
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"I kinda pushed this person away. I wish
I didn't."
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"And now, I am plagued with an
insurmountable amount of regret."
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Which does make it a really tough listen
even if I think instrumentally and
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melodically it is one of the strongest
showings here.
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Narratively and emotionally there are
quite a few cuts that I think are
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a bit lighter in tone, but they still
contribute a great amount of quality to
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the record and are just generally
fun and entertaining to listen to.
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There's "Club classics", which I thought
was hands down an incredible single to
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the album. Also, "B2b", which is just some
very straightforward, cut and dry,
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throwback, quality dance pop with a pretty
clear hot and cold, back and forth
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love on the rocks type narrative
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There's also "Apple", which is some
very groovy throwbacks synthpop too.
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All about a situation and dynamic that
Charli likens to a rotten apple,
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it's a situation she describes having to
escape from by car or by plane,
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There's "Mean girls", which is a
character portrait about exactly that,
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with a soaring and anthemic chorus
plus a killer piano break
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that the entire track builds off of
from there.
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And then at the very end there's
"365", which is this
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version of the song "360" that kicks
the record off, this
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mirrored, remix-as-reprise big finish.
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With some acid bass mixed in there
for good measure.
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So, I love the way the record finishes.
Love the way it kicks off,
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and the flow from moment to moment
generally is great.
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It's to the point where certain tracks
in the leadup to the record
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that I thought were just kind of okay
sound better being reinforced
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by the vibes and the aesthetics of the
surrounding songs on the album.
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Because as I've heard the entire
thing now many times over,
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I don't think there's a skip on it.
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The production generally goes hard
as hell, it is vibrant, it is colorful,
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it is very visceral at times, aggressive,
but,
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I can see some people kinda scratching
their heads at the fact that it doesn't
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come across quite as futuristic as some
of those "hyperpop" cult classics
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in recent years.
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But more importantly what I think
the production does on
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this album is that it serves the songs.
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It's sweet when it needs to be,
it's dynamic when it needs to be,
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it's lowkey or explosive when it needs
to be,
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and there is still a very clear and
consistent aesthetic focused on
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the entire album that centers around
a certain era of pop and dance music.
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So, I'm not necessarily disappointed
with this record not being as
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ahead of the curve as a project like
"Charli", for example.
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Especially considering that Charli xcx
copycats these days are abound.
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The impact that people like her and A.G
and SOPHIE have had on the modern era
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of pop music, is not going anywhere
anytime soon.
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And it's with that I say I loved
"BRAT", killer album,
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and I think that this record proves that
Charli truly is a generational pop artist.
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Which is why I'm feeling a strong 9,
to a 10 on this LP.
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Tran-
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sition. Have you given this album a
listen? Did you love it? Did you hate it?
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What would you rate it?
"You're the best, you're the best",
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What should I review next?
Hit the like if you'd like,
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please subscribe, please don't cry,
hit the bell as well.
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Over here next to my head is another video
you can check out,
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hit that up or the link to subscribe
to the channel.
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Anthony Fantano, Charli xcx. Forever.