Tag: Charli XCX

Charli XCX – “Music, Fashion, Film” review

This is the 8th studio LP from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter Charli XCX. who one might be remembered for her feature on Iggy Azalea’s biggest hit “Fancy” a decade ago. Her solo material would go on to step leaps & bounds beyond hers with highlights including her 3rd & 4th mixtapes #1 Angel & Pop 2 respectively alongside her 4th & 5th albums Charli & How I’m Feeling Now. Her final Asylum Records offering Crash was ok & brat under Atlantic Records quickly became an indie sleaze revival landmark, coming off the soundtrack of Wuthering Heights to drop Music, Fashion, Film.

“Rock Music” produced by A.G. Cook made for a polarizing lead single blending new rave, indietronica & power pop singing about departing from the EDM style in favor of rock whereas “SS26” fuses indie rock, alt-pop, pop rock, indietronica, slacker rock & post-punk revival critiquing art being commercialized beyond recognition. “Card Declined” splits itself into 2 distinct halves singing about the topic of materialism prior to the indietronica, alternative dance, alt-pop & pop rock single “Camera” finds herself considering pursuing an acting career.

Moving on from there, “2007” looks back at how far she’s come since beginning to make music 19 years previously combining elements of alternative dance & pop rock just before “I’m Afraid” discusses Charli’s engagement to George Daniel & gets confessional regarding everything she fears. “Yeah” might be one of the weaker moments partly due to it’s repetitive structuring although I very much understand the concept revolving around yes men while “Wink Wink” mixes pop rock, post-punk revival, power pop, new wave & dance-punk revival sings about people always changing.

“Persona” winds down Music, Fashion, Film’s final act advising for people to not let their egos choke them whenever she’s around them over a fuzzy guitar playing behind her while “Magic Metal Montana” shows some appreciation towards A.G. Cook, considering him to be her best friend & that he makes things easier for her whenever they’re in the studio. The closer “No One Lasts Forever” featuring a spoken word interlude & outro from David Cronenberg sends off the album singing about enjoying life now since every living being eventually dies.

Starting the deluxe run, “I Keep on Thinking ‘Bout You Every Single Day & Night” vents over someone who’s constantly on Charli’s mind with some synthesizers backing her while “Playboy Bunny” gives us the complete sonic opposite of “SS26” & letting her sassy side take control responding to the people who claim her output sounds the same by saying it’s because she made it herself. The final bonus track “If you take away the music then what has she got?” menacingly concludes with a repetitive chorus & post-chorus preceding a guitar solo.

I fully support the idea of Charli XCX making a complete stylistic departure for Music, Fashion, Film even if I wouldn’t put it in the same category as brat or How I’m Feeling Now or Charli amongst her most celebrated material. However, I’ll still put it above the Wuthering Heights soundtrack & even Crash compared to her other 2020s output. A.G. Cook’s production experiments with indietronica, indie rock, pop rock, slacker rock, alternative dance, alt-pop, new rave, power pop, post-punk revival, noise pop, new wave & dance-punk revival so Charli can get more introspective lyrically.

Score: 3.5/5

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Charli XCX – “brat” review

Charli XCX is a 31 year old singer/songwriter from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom who one might remember for her feature on Iggy Azalea’s biggest hit “Fancy” a decade ago. Her solo material would go on to step leaps & bounds beyond hers with highlights including her 3rd & 4th mixtapes #1 Angel & Pop 2 respectively alongside her 4th & 5th LPs Charli & How I’m Feeling Now. Her previous full-length Crash was the last to be released through Asylum Records about 27 months ago & a decent one at that, so I most certainly had high hopes for Charli’s 7th album backed by Atlantic Records.

PC Music co-founder A.G. Cook mixes bubblegum bass, electropop, pop rap, Atlanta bass & dance-pop into 1 on “360” starting us off singing about going her own way whereas “Club Classics” maintains the primary bubblegum bass sound of the opener with additional elements of bassline, new beat, Jersey Club, fidget house & acid house talking about that being all she wants to hear. “Sympathy is a Knife” takes the hyerpop route instrumentally to tackle themes of self-doubt ahead of “I Might Say Something Stupid” singing over bare pianos thanks to Gesaffelstein about being unsure if she belongs here anymore. Former G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer Hudson Mohawke of TNGHT jumps behind the boards for the undeniably catchy electropop jam “Talk Talk” asking for this man to talk to her that is until the electro house, electropop, dance-pop, Dutch house & electroclash-flavored “Von Dutch” later becoming the official theme song for WWE Royal Rumble XXXVIIII assures that it’s ok to simply admit of one’s jealousy/envy of her.

“Everything’s Romantic” continues to go for an EDM vibe for the beat discussing endlessly falling in love prior to “Rewind” goes electropop once more wishing that she could turn back certain moments of her life. “So I” continues the 2nd half of Brat in the form of a profound dedication to Charli’s late collaborator SOPHIE just before “Girl, So Confusing” featuring Lorde on the remix turns the electronic dance music influences back up opening up about the confusion it is to be a woman at points. “Apple” keeps the upbeat grooves going reminding that the apple certainly doesn’t fall far from the tree whatsoever, but then “B2B” futuristically talks about going back to back.

The hyperpop song “Mean Girls” takes inspiration from Dasha Nekrasova exploring societies’ fascination with mean women worshipping Lana Del Rey in her wireless Apple Inc. Bluetooth earbuds AirPods while the penultimate track “I Think About It All the Time” brings a dance-pop flare to the instrumental fearing that she’s running out of time. Finally, the closer “365” ends Brat hypnotically alluding to the never ending cycle of partying. “Hello goodbye” begins the deluxe embarrassing herself in the midst of introducing herself to a potential partner sticking to the PC Music sound while “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish on the remix has that signature electroclash style The Dare is known for expressing Charli’s sexual desires. “Spring breakers” concludes the bonus track run sampling “Everytime” by Britney Spears chockfull of references to the 2012 film of the same name.

Crash was an average way for Charli to fulfill her Asylum contract couple years back & as we enter further into the summer, Brat reveals to be the most aggressive & confrontational yet most vulnerable album in her discography so far. The production is mainly club-centered evoking & channeling the illegal London rave scene through electropop, EDM, bubblegum bass, electro house, dance-pop, electroclash, pop rap, Atlanta bass, bassline, new beat, Jersey Club, fidget house, acid house & hyperpop providing introspection that might come to you in the midst of a party or the insurmountable dread of the morning after.

Score: 4.5/5

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