I sit here typing this review in sunny Spain with my somewhat purposeful choice of wearing lime green swimming trunks before taking a morning dip. I’ve been streaming this album non-stop since its release. And I spy you, Metacritic, for bumping up the rating daily. So join me for my take on the wonderful, bashful and loud new release from Charli xcx, ‘Brat’, and the spoilt cunty rascal child this album really is.
As the perfect opener, those hard synths intro us to 360. Song of the year hands down. We get a real insight to the production of this LP on the first track, with Charli crediting AG Cook as a main producer, ‘you gon’ jump if AG made it’. Albeit the production being a handful of repeated chords, it still slaps and is instantly recognisable by those infectious ad-libs in the post-chorus. Full of self empowered lyrics and a strong reinforcement of her position in the hyperpop scene, the music video really anchors Charli as the it-girl at the mo. She is everywhere, she is so Julia.
In perhaps a more raw form, Club classics is an instant rave classic. The first deep house cut off the album, Charli is sharing how she just wants to slay and have a good time going out-out. The track encompasses 3 separate eras, shifting in production throughout. Listen, we just want a good time with AG, George, Sophie and Hud Mo.
When I first heard Sympathy is a knife, I thought it would make a great follow-up single to the album. Still standing by my prediction on this. The synths pulse like a dagger straight through the heart, the vocals crunch like grit and the drums hit with absolutely no apology. But ironically, this track is actually full of delicate lyrics and insecurity. We see a battle between Charli’s internal monologue, juxtaposed to that confident, self-assuring production. She spirals with the lyrics ‘volatile at war with my dialogue’ and illustrates denial with the lyric ‘all this sympathy is just a lie’.
In perhaps an extension to this theme, I might say something stupid builds on the same idea insecurity, but with a more confessional and intimate sound. Reminiscent of Radiohead’s ‘Freak’ or Keane’s ‘Bedshaped’ chord progression, Charli mentions she’s is ‘perfect for the background’ and is negotiating whether she should keep trying to reach new heights in the hostile music industry. Themes of feeling undeserved also follow, with Charli claiming she ‘[doesn’t] know if [she] belongs here anymore’.
Let’s also remember that our Queen has been making music commercially since ‘Nuclear Seasons’ dropped in 2013, and has only now received critical and mainstream acclaim despite some incredible past releases. ‘Brat’ is a breakthrough for so many new fans and whilst that should be relished, it has also taken her 11 years to build such a cult base of fans. Fully deserved, but what a ride.
Been ghosted? Been put on mute? Wanting that sweet sweet attention in your life? Yeah, I’d say Talk talk is about that. Getting back into the club groove with that repetitive rhythm we know all-too-well by now, Charli is plotting ways to approach a crush – later confirmed in a TikTok interview to be her now fiancé. Full of delulu, Charli follows this mysterious person to the bathroom and leaves it very simple for the chorus, desperately saying ‘wish you’d talk talk to me’. It’s a fun and lively take on the run around.
Also, can we talk how good the pitch bend is on ‘all your friends are still there’ in the second verse? It cleansed, itched, aloe vera-ed and then re-moisturised every part of my brain in the space of 4 seconds.
We’ve reached our peak, ladies and gents. The pop dance electro music scene will never be the same with the top level cunt tier release Von dutch. Full of flex, we’re back to those self empowered descriptions we know and love. A commentary on critics and paparazzi, the song’s ideology plays on the notion of every move being watched, and somebody waiting for Charli to have a slip-up. Instead of being insecure about it, she replies with revolt, saying ‘you’re obsessing just confess it ‘cos it’s obvious, I’m your number one’. This self-assured attitude is anchored in the fast paced music video where Charli is seen smashing cameras and jumping off A380s. Big slay.
Two additional honourable mentions on this track. Firstly, mad credit to Addison Rae on the remix. An auto-tuned scream never sounded so good. And secondly, the Bodyrox’s ‘Yeah Yeah’ swirling pitch-bending sample is incredibly interpolated here. Bring back noughties house music. Cult classic.
In a self doubt moment, I thought my Spotify has shuffled Raye into the mix when I first heard Everything is romantic. But no, we now have our official Charli x Italy sponsored collab. Spoken word verses, poetry, sunsets, lace curtains and Aperol spritz. Ooof. We see the partnership of human made beauty and natural beauty here, with ‘sandals on the stirrups of the scooters, pompeii in the distance’. The connection is furthered in the production shift from somewhat traditional and simplistic drum rhythms, flute solos and harp plucks, to a progressive and more futuristic production filled with vocoders, atmospheric synth pads and airy, space-like reverb-filled vocals. Nice.
Reminiscent if a time where we didn’t have to worry about our face shape proportions, Rewind is Charli’s longing-for-the-past record. She confesses that after her long music trajectory, success should be in the cards. She ‘used to never think about billboard [but is now wondering] ’bout whether [she] deserves commercial success’. The tape recorder SFX also reinforces the 2000s, Y2K, DIY burnt CD’s, Frutiger Aero aesthetic and nostalgia that is swooping most industries right now.
On the production side, it’s interesting to get Cirkut as a producer on this. Popular for working regularly with Max Martin and credits on ‘Roar’, ‘Wrecking Ball’ an ‘Starboy’, it makes this track perhaps Charli’s safest, cleanest and radio friendly play. It speaks volumes though, as this is a real reflection of the way pop music is evolving, especially if such a producer is hopping on sounds that were once exclusive only to the hyper-pop scene.
In a heartfelt tribute, So I is Charli’s anthem to long-time collaborator and inspirer, Sophie, who tragically died in 2021. The production lays off on this one, leaving more room for the sincere yet regretful lyrics. Charli dives deep into their friendship, reflecting: ‘wish I tried to pull you closer’. Sophie revolutionised the hyperpop scene and her legacy remains.
Girl, so confusing is a commentary on individuality as a female and how difficult it can be whilst being constantly compared and judged by the media and critics. It’s certainly not our first dose of this theme on the album. Set in a humorous tone, Charli jokes ‘people say we’re alike, they say we’ve got the same hair’. I can’t help but think this is a response to how she’s often been referred to, or confused with, New Zealand pop sensation, Lorde. Despite their music being wildly different, their looks are apparently similar I guess?
The idea of this track is exaggerated by phrase ‘I’m just a girl’ in the chorus, alluding to the popularised phrase on TikTok. On the production side, we hear those swirling synths come back to action but this time in the verses rather than the chorus. An honourable mention to the scattered left and right audio pans of ‘girl’ here, which gives this track a dynamic liveliness. Oh, and the remix is a hit. It delivers a heartfelt but gut-wrenching verse and they sure worked it out on the remix.
A colourful and vibrant twist, Apple dives into the world of inheriting traits and shaping your own path. Charli compares the apple ‘could turn yellow or green’ and creates her own the grass-isn’t-always-greener moment. Comparing herself to her parents in the first verse, she later goes on to use driving as a form of escaping an assumed and already written version of herself. Getting away is therapy for Charli, and there is a clear desire to become somebody different. It’s a fast, friendly and city-like production which maintains the pace of the LP.
B2b is for all of my fellow Account Managers out there. This is our home anthem. The cyclical, repetitive nature of this track makes it an instant classic. Charli sings about wanting to progress through life and not wanting to revisit the past ‘I don’t wanna fall right back to us’. The lyrics ride over a harsh drum beat and slimey synths (I don’t know how else to describe them), courtesy of Gesaffelstein.
The thing that gets me the most about this track is the vocals that get entirely lost in the mix and go off-beat amongst the syncopated production, but then seemingly find themselves right back on track to carry this song through more of the loop. The constant rise and fall of this too-short-of-a-song definitely anchors Charli’s confused state of mind, ‘took a long time, breaking myself down, building myself back up, repeating it’. I can imagine this went mad during the live Boiler Set too.
We get roasted in the first verse of Mean girls – no really – with charli describing her listeners in our ‘mid twenties’, ‘dead eyed’ and how we ‘worship Lana Del Rey [through] our airpods’. I feel attacked. This track is thrown to the Pinterest it-girls and is certainly the most descriptive track we’ve heard so far. It’s an anthem for the fans despite the finger pointing, and we get an interesting 2024 take on a David Guetta-esque production style in the chorus, reminiscent of ‘Sexy Bitch’. I’ll take it.
But just when we get into the vibe, we’re met with a gorgeous shift in production and a piano breakdown from AG and Hud Mo, which clearly demonstrates their raw talents, and this layers into the main production through to the outro. A masterpiece of a send-off.
In perhaps her most confessional state of mind, I think about it all the time sees Charli talk about growing up and acknowledging the biological clock. We see a different side here, and a definite shift from the bratty/party vision. She mentions she ‘went to her friends house and met their baby’ and how she ‘might run out of time’. The production is minimal and doesn’t overshadow the bespoke storytelling here, with Charli acknowledging her new-found commitment to her partner (‘finally met my baby’) and giving us thoughts for the future and motherhood.
But you know what? “Fuck motherhood, let’s do a line”, Charli says on her wild rampage outro 365. You cannot make this up. Clearly not satisfied with settling down just yet, Charli samples herself in the outro of this record. Queen shit. The production is both pitched-up and sped-up for all the Gen-Z’ers out there, and it’s clear that from start to finish, the party does not want to end on ‘Brat’. This one really leaves us in the perfect position to replay and start the experience all over again.
Overall, this was a risk for Charli. To make an album with such a different sound to everything else we’re hearing in the charts right now is such a power move, but it’s paid off. But I can’t not quickly talk about the bonus tracks, with these themes ever-present.
One week after the original release, we get the humorously titled ‘Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not’ and yeah – unsurprisingly – there are indeed 3 more songs on it.
Hello goodbye showcases Charli’s intrusive and borderline, persuasive mind as she pushes a lover away. Guess is as bratty as I gets, with Charli asking us to to ‘guess the colour of [her] underwear’ through a Daft Punk meets Slut Pop beat. And Spring breakers gives us an angsty attitude towards a grammy snob and a shady Pitchfork review. Yikes. Kesha collab any time soon?
Were also expecting a remix album soon, with rumours that Rosalía, Caroline Polachek and others are to feature, so this era is far from finished.
I genuinely think this is an album that people may describe as edgy, raw, unpolished. But I think that’s the art of it. The non-pitch corrected vocals and sometimes choppy production create such a cleverly crafted album and way of listening to music that fully deserves the rave reviews, and nothing is a throwaway. This isn’t just an album, it’s a cultural reset, a lifestyle and a very kunty summer.
Glerbie 