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