Charli XCX - BRAT ALBUM REVIEW

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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?
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Anthony Fantano, Charli xcx. Forever.