If you know me or have followed this blog for a while, you probably know about how much I dig Charli xcx. I have always thought she has been as much of a trailblazer for Pop music as anyone has in any genre over the last 15 years. There is no one like her. She has been setting trends and breaking boundaries her whole career. It has always felt like she is so ahead of the game. Charli has been making exquisite Pop music since the early 2010s, but she has been especially killing it over the last 8 years or so. Her 2016 EP Vroom Vroom and her 2017 EPs Number 1 Angel and Pop 2 are considered to be two of the most fundamental projects for the rise of HyperPop. 2019s Charli and 2020’s how i’m feeling now continue to push limits and take Hyperpop to the next level. They are both highly acclaimed and some of my personal favorite albums of the 2020s. Charli’s 2022 album CRASH had a slightly tamer sound than its two predecessors but is still very good for what it is. Charli has been gearing up for the release of her highly anticipated new album BRAT with multiple excellent singles; two of them, ‘Von dutch’ and ‘360’ are among my top songs of the year so far. It’s safe to say this is an album I’ve been waiting for. With that being said, here is how I feel Charli xcx’s BRAT. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from this record, and also comment on how you feel about it as a whole!
Charli xcx gets BRAT going with the aforementioned excellent single ‘360.’ This song has been on repeat for me since it came out; I just can’t get enough of it. The synths that drive the melody for this track are so bright and fun. ‘360’ has a joyous and braggadocious tone I really love. The spunky beat for ‘360’ is the kind that is tough not to want to move to; ‘360’ just makes me want to party. As cool as the instrumental is, Charli’s vocals are the best part of this one. The flow that she sings with is so fun, and her tone is just as addicting as the instrumental. Multiple lines in this one are such an earworm and are constantly getting stuck in my head. In ‘360,’ Charli is singing about how she knows that everyone wants to be like her because she is such a star. ‘Club classics’ was another one of the four singles released from this record. This song has the kind of intense and vivid energy that only Charli could create. ‘Club classics’ feels like it could have been on Pop 2 because of how quirky its sound is. It is as outlandish as anything Charli has made in years(in the best way). Everything about this song is saturated and larger-than-life. The melody is celestial and trippy, and the beat is just as crazy. This song is like a big ball of over-stimulating positive energy. I really like the vocals on this track; the rap sections from Charli create such a cool juxtaposition with the high-pitched singing on the hook. On ‘Club classics,’ Charli is singing about wanting to party the night away to her favorite club music hits with her friends. ‘Sympathy is a knife’ is a track with much darker and harsher energy than the first two tracks. The synths that drive this track are so fat and chunky; they almost give the song a Pop-Punk feeling. This song is like if Blink 182 came out in 2099 instead of the 1990s. I love the attitude the melody and beat for ‘Sympathy is a knife’ have. This song feels so gritty and powerful because of how drowning this instrumental is. Charli xcx’s vocals on ‘Sympathy is a knife’ are just as striking as the instrumental. The emotion is palpable in her voice and makes this song hit so much harder. This is a song I know I will be blasting all summer long. On ‘Sympathy is a knife,’ Charli is singing about her insecurities and how she does not feel like she lives up to the idea of what a Pop star is supposed to be. There is a lot of speculation that this song is about Taylor Swift; particularly, how Charli sometimes wishes she could be like Taylor, not only in terms of success but in terms of looks and demeanor as well. The energy of BRAT comes crashing to a halt with the song ‘I might say something stupid.’ I really did not know that Charli had this type of song in her. It is like Charli xcx’s version of an Acoustic Pop ballad. The instrumental ‘I might say something stupid’ is driven by a melancholy keyboard riff that is heavily saturated and washed out by various synths that come in and out. The beat for this song, if you want to call it that, consists of a consistent light cymbal crash. I enjoy the vocal effects on this track a ton, as they give the song a heavy and downtrodden element that makes it stand out. ‘I might say something stupid’ is a super cool track that shows a different side to Charli than what we usually see; it shows her depth and vulnerability. In ‘I might say something stupid,’ Charli sings about how she often feels out of place and uncomfortable at parties with high-profile people, causing her to lash out and embarrass herself. This creates an image of herself that she does not want, but can not get rid of.
The reprieve in high energy we got on the last song is brief, as the dance floor energy comes back in a big way on the song ‘Talk Talk.’ This is a track that I could totally see ending up becoming a sleeper hit. It has the sort of 1980s-esque Disco sound that is so big right now. When I hear this track, I think of the music that artists like Ariana Grande or Dua Lipa are making. Of course, ‘Talk Talk’ has an ultramodern flair to it that really differentiates it from those artists. Some of the synths of this track are so fat and the beat is so saturated it gives the song a robotic feeling that is awesome. Charli xcx’s vocals are dainty and sweet on ‘Talk Talk,’ going super nicely with the extremely bright sound of the melody. On ‘Talk Talk,’ Charli xcx is singing about wanting her new partner to be honest about their feelings with her, as she knows they really want her but will not express it in the way that she wants. Following ‘Talk Talk,’ we get the iconic single ‘Von dutch.’ In short, I would say this is my favorite song of 2024 so far. I dig everything about ‘Von dutch.’ The track has such a fun and gritty energy that is a little dirty and industrial but also shimmering and metallic. The melody is dark yet vibrant, and the beat absolutely pounds. ‘Von dutch’ is the kind of song that will get any club jumping when it comes on. It is impossible to not want to dance to this song. Charli’s vocals on ‘Von dutch’ are not the most rangey or strong, but they are so effective. She sings ‘Von dutch’ with an almost chanting sort of tempo that makes it so easy to sing along to, making it infectious. On ‘Von dutch,’ Charli is singing about how she knows she has the life that so many people want. She is an icon who lives how she pleases, and so many people are striving to be like her. ‘Everything is romantic’ is probably the most eccentric song of the record so far, which is obviously saying a lot. When the song starts, it seems like it is going to have a low-key and angelic sound. The melody has a classical feeling that is so pleasant. About a minute or so into the song, an extremely intense and glitchy beat comes in. This beat is so all over the place, with all sorts of crazy sound effects making the song feel enormous. ‘Everything is romantic’ sounds like it came out of a dystopian futuristic rave. I would actually love to hear this song in a club because of how all over the place its energy is. ‘Everything is romantic’ has what is easily Charli’s best vocal performance so far on this record. She does it all on this one; her rapping is so catchy, her range is dynamic, and the power she sings with matches the energy of the instrumental. On ‘Everything is romantic,’ Charli xcx sings about engaging in a ton of short flings because she falls in love so easily. She is a romantic and when love is in the air, it takes her over. ‘Rewind’ is a track that reminds me a lot of the music from Charli’s EPs Pop 2 and Number One Angel. It does have a 1980–ish Synth Pop element that helps it fit into the sound of this record, but this track definitely has the over-the-top and bold HyperPop energy from those two projects. The synths that drive the melody for ‘Rewind’ are super distorted and fat. Even though the tone of the melody is pretty shiny, the song has a bit of a harsh feeling because of the mix of the melody. ‘Rewind’ has a fast Poppy beat that is so hard to sit still and type to; I really want to get up and jump around my apartment as I listen to this. Throughout the track, there are record-scratching and video-rewinding sound effects that fit in with the theme of ‘Rewind.’ Charli’s vocals are pretty dainty on ‘Rewind.’ I like the softer nature of her vocals, as they contrast the instrumental in a cool way. On ‘Rewind,’ Charli sings about wanting to go back to a time in her life when things were simpler and when she was not nearly as insecure as she is now.
‘So I’ is a song that is quickly emerging as a fan favorite, and it is not difficult to see why. ‘So I’ is a dedication to one of Charli’s best friends and inspiration, SOPHIE. In particular, Charli sings about how she has still not gotten over SOPHIE’s passing(RIP) and how she wishes she was there for SOPHIE more when they were alive, as they were incredibly important to Charli. ‘So I’ is one of the slowest songs on the record, so far, but is almost one of the more intense. The song is driven by massive synths that are heavily distorted and have a very heavenly tone. Charli’s vocals on this song are rangey and powerful; they go so nicely with the foreboding energy of this track. ‘So I’ is a beautiful tribute to SOPHIE that does a nice job of capturing the magical energy that SOPHIE exhibited through their music and overall persona. ‘Girl, so confusing’ is another song that has been popping off among Charli’s biggest fans. Like ‘So I,’ this is for the song’s lyrical sentiment just as much as the sound of the song. ‘Girl, so confusing’ is about Charli’s complicated relationship with Lorde. Charli has often been compared to Lorde throughout her career. They both have big hair, exuberant personalities and make unusual Alternative Pop music. Charli knows she is extremely different from Lorde, though, and does not know why people compare them so much. She sees everything about their careers, music, and personalities as being different, and does not like how she is compared to someone she sees as more successful than her. ‘Girl, so confusing’ has a sound that matches the intense feeling of its lyrics well. The melody for this track is so vivid, fat, and robotic. Even though the tone of the melody and beat are sweet, its mix gives it an almost anxious feeling. Charli’s vocals on this track have a super interesting, mechanical effect on them. This automated feeling that the vocals feed into the energy that her music and overall demeanor are nothing like Lorde’s. This is a subtle touch that I enjoy a ton. ‘Apple’ feels like the most basic or cookie-cutter song of the record so far. This one is not bad, it is just not as memorable as anything that precedes it. For what it is, ‘Apple’ is an entertaining Synth-Pop track with a 1980s feel. When I hear this one, I think of artists like Tiffany or Cyndi Lauper. Although ‘Apple’ has the most vanilla sound of the record so far, I could see it popping off because of how catchy it is. ‘Apple’ does feel a bit light compared to the sound of anything else on this record, but it is still definitely very enjoyable. I think the best thing about ‘Apple’ by far is the vocals from Charli. What the song lacks in quirkiness of instrumental it makes up for in Charli’s vocals, which are zestful, strong, and so fresh. On ‘Apple,’ Charli is singing about her tumultuous relationship with her parents and how she is observing traits in herself that she does not like about them. ‘B2b’ is the other song that was released as a single in anticipation of this record. It was released at the same time as ‘Club classics’ as a double single. One fascinating thing is that I enjoyed this song more than ‘Club classics’ at the time they came out, but have not moved towards being into ‘Club classics’ more. Don’t get me wrong, the songs do have a similar energy and are both great in their own right, but it is funny how that works. ‘B2b’ may be one of the simplest songs on the record in terms of sound, but it is also very effective. The song has a pounding House music beat and a vivid and fat melody, making the perfect dance floor sound. ‘B2b’ is a song that just makes me want to party when I hear it. I really enjoy Charli’s vocals on this one. The tone she sings with is so catchy and poignant and makes this track so sticky. On ‘B2b,’ Charli xcx is singing about not wanting to keep seeing a man that she knows is talking to another woman too. She feels like she is going back and forth with this woman while the man just picks his flavor of the week.
‘Mean girls’ is an additional track that I could see ending up being a huge sleeper hit(that is, if it is not already becoming one). Everything about this track is sassy, grimy, and fun. The melody ‘Mean girls’ is super groovy and a bit jazzy; the first thing I thought of when I first heard this one is the early music from Daft Punk(which of course endears it to me). At times, the melody takes on a super gritty and fat sound, giving it a Lady Gaga feeling. The beat for this track also has the energy of that early 2010s Lady Gaga Synth-Pop. I do not know how Charli xcx was able to merge Lady Gaga and Daft Punk, but it sounds so natural and cool on this track. Charli’s vocals on Mean girls’ are not necessarily striking, but they are lively and cute. On ‘Mean girls,’ Charli is singing about any girl who knows they are the center of attention and star of the show. It is an uplifting track for aspiring micro celebs all around the world. ‘I think about it all the time’ is a lovely track where Charli once again opens up in a way that we do not typically see from her. Sonically, this is somehow quirky and tame at the same time. The song has an overall sound that is pretty reminiscent of 1980s Synth-Pop music, but the mix of the melody and beat and the sound effects throughout the track give it an unorthodox element. Charli’s vocals on ‘I think about it all the time’ are enthralling. Although her delivery is pretty modest, it is a bit off-beat, which really makes what she is saying hit. And what Charli is saying in ‘I think about it all the time’ is the most endearing part of this track. Charli sings about how she thinks she found her forever person, and how the older she gets, the more she thinks about having kids(especially as the people around her start to have them). Charli brings BRAT back full circle with the song ‘365.’ This is a very compelling way to end this record, as it rounds things out perfectly. Basically, ‘365’ is a rework of the stupendous opening track of BRAT. ‘360.’ This suggests the album is supposed to be listened to in a continuous loop, as it finishes the way it starts. This leans into the idea that Charli is living in a never-ending cycle of glamor and partying. ‘365’ has a bit more of a vivid and harsh sound than the song it samples. It honestly feels like listening to ‘360’ on steroids. I honestly can’t decide which version I enjoy more. ‘360’ is clean and bright, while ‘365’ is abrasive and grimy. Charli certainly wanted to close out BRAT with an explosion, and she certainly achieved that with ‘365.’
As I stated in the introduction, I had pretty high expectations for this album. After how great Charli xcx’s last several releases have been, how could I not? I am happy to say that Charli blew me out of the water with BRAT. It is anything anyone could have wanted and more. Charli somehow improved in all facets of her artistry with this album. The instrumentals are as boundary-pushing and eclectic as ever. Charli takes her sound to the next level in every way on this one. As much as I appreciate the bold and fierce music on this record, I also appreciate the softer moments a ton as well, as they show a side to Charli we typically never see. Speaking of seeing a side the Charli we never see, lyrically she is as vulnerable as she has ever been on BRAT. Charli lets listeners into her mind on BRAT, highlighting some of her biggest insecurities and faults in a manner that makes it so accessible and relatable. BRAT is a truly exceptional Pop album where Charli xcx shows how incredibly talented she is. I would be surprised if this one does not end up as my favorite album of the year, because it can not get much better than this. I mean, how can you do better than a 10/10?
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