Album Review: Brat | Charli XCX
Bumpin that! Charli XCX beats the peaked in high school allegations
For most veteran artists, it can be hard to keep up with the ever-changing world of pop music and stay on top. Charli XCX is not like most artists. A decade after her initial breakthrough with hits like Fancy, I Love It and Boom Clap, BRAT is a celebration of how Charli has championed her sound and stuck with it despite trends in the music landscape. Charli XCX owns hyperpop club music, and with her latest record, that consistency has paid off. Brat is the most vulnerable version of the artist we've seen, but almost every album rollout you see these days hones in on "relatability" but doesn't always nail the authentic part of the formula. Charli nails it.
If you listened to Charli's "sold out" record CRASH in 2022, you can see her path to BRAT. The record plays with the hyper-pop vibe established on her previous records, but turns up the volume to focus on rave music. What makes BRAT special is her ability to make club music feel so accessible. For example, "Von Dutch" is a great rave-pop track that would be perfect for a festival, but it's also great for driving, showering, working in an office (you hiring?), or cooking. It has a strong acid-house (real genre) bass synth with crunchy, distorted pop drums that keep you interested in what's going on without isolating the audience to a more hardcore sound.
“I wanted to make an album of the things i actually say”
-Charli XCX on the Zane Lowe show
Thematically, Charli is not concerned with poetic nuance, instead making music from the conversations around her. Songs from text conversations, coffee chats, and passing comments result in an authentic and accurate representation of who Charli XCX says she is - a party girl. Charli's attitude is all over this record as she plays into the philosophy behind Brat. She loves to party, she is a little messy, she is always feeling herself, but she is also always on the verge of a breakdown and might say something stupid. But don't confuse this party girl with someone superficial; Charli gets deep on this record. She writes about this feeling of hangxiety on I might say something stupid, where she describes the feeling of being at a party and feeling so out of place and uncomfortable that she becomes this crazy exaggerated version of herself to avoid seeming unlikable or boring.
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We would be remiss not to mention one of the other core themes of this record, jealousy. Charli describes the complexities of being a woman in the music industry, constantly pitted against and feeling like a competitor. Charli skillfully explores this feeling without necessarily "talking sh*t" about other artists, but she also explores her own insecurities. This theme is prominent on the track "Girl, so Confusing," where she tackles the crazy dynamic of being expected to act as a supportive, feminist friend on the one hand and being compared to and competing with another female artist on the other.
"You're all about writing poems, but I'm about throwing parties" is replaced with a verse from Lorde where they squash their beef by literally "working it out on the remix," which instantly becomes one of the most memorable musical moments of the year and causes mass hysteria online for fans of both artists. Lorde continues to match Charli's energy, spitting incredibly vulnerable lyrics over a club beat and slipping into her own brat persona. It's a fantastic track.
Elsewhere, Charli writes about how depressing it was for her to be around Taylor Swift when she was dating The 1975 frontman Matty Healy (for context, Charli is engaged to 1975 drummer George Daniel): "I don't want to see her at my boyfriend's show. Fingers crossed behind my back. I hope they break up soon. Charli addresses this conflicting position she finds herself in in the following Brat PSA.
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Another thing we love about this record is the marketing. It's one of the best album covers of the 2020s, no question. It's simple, accessible, and most importantly, meme-able. Memes using the album's style have taken over social media. It's impossible to avoid the neon green and narrowed Arial font. ... Charli XCX was able to physically engage fans with the brat wall. Charli's team painted a physical wall in New York City to announce the album title, deluxe version and "Girl, so confusing" remix with Lorde. This physical landmark encouraged fans to engage with the album rollout by rushing to the livestream to see what was next. The lime green aesthetic paired with the brat wall and the overall "internet hot girl vibe" all fit together perfectly for a genius promotional campaign for Charli. The doubling down on the "it girl" persona took off on TikTok, and it paid off big time.
There is no doubt that BRAT is Charli's magnum opus. The creative and commercial success speaks for itself. She's never had this kind of acclaim (currently #1 album of the year on Metacritic); moreover, it was by far Charli's best album commercially, selling 82K units in its first week, the biggest week of her entire career.
Check out our favorite tracks, listen to the album, and see our scores below:
Can’t Miss: Von Dutch, 360, Mean Girls, Girl so confusing,
You Can Skip: I Think About It All the Time
BY THE NUMBERS
Bennett’s Score: 7.06
Carson’s Score: 7.61
Overall Album Score: 14.67
Notes from Bennett:
I did not have Charli XCX making one of my favorite albums of the year on my 2024 bingo card. This record is fun, got me dancing, keeps me engaged & overall is a 2024 classic. I can only HOPE clubs are banging these songs across the world.
I’m hearing that Von Dutch & Speed Drive (from Barbie) came out of the same studio session… what a day.
I’m a little weirded out by I might say something stupid just because i’m not expecting a ballad on a project like this but fire whatevs
Girl, so confusing < girl, so confusing version with lorde
“fall in love again & again” on Everything is romantic was a huge win
Notes from Carson:
I really really am shocked at how phenomenal this record is. I severely underestimated Charli’s artistry and her ability to make a serious record, but that is still fun at its core. Super cool.
Apple is such a wonderfully written song. I love the way the extends the “apple don’t fall far from the tree” metaphor and plays into her insecurities and fears. The “I wanna grow the apple, keep all the seeds” line is so clever in the context of Charli thinking through her legacy for her future children if she had them. Also love the Tiktok dance too.
I love how this album can give you whiplash in the best way - she goes from club bangers to depressing self-reflections on her complicated relationship with her fame, her friends, and her future.
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