★★★★☆
Charli XCX milks her iconic album of the summer with her latest proclamation of pop stardom with Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat. In an attempt to make the album of the summer stay relevant into the fall, Charli XCX released the album with the same tracks as brat, but with new featured artists.
The album features an onslaught of artists, from the underground Swedish
rapper Bladee, to the queens of pop themselves: Lorde, Ariana Grande, and Billie Eilish.
The new album, released on Oct. 11, screams—literally—edgy-girl angst, as Charli XCX copes with her rise to stardom solidified during this summer.
Charli’s remixes embody the ideal collection of musical artists. The new tracks possess a
familiarity from the originals, with a newness that only fresh talent can supply.
The album contains some standout hits, most notably its finale “Guess featuring billie
eilish.” It’s the quintessential addition to running or hot-girl walk playlists, as it captures the feminine prowess that defines the album.
“Club classics featuring bb trickz” is another standout. Spanish rapper Bb trickz perfectly conveys the international-party-girl-in-her-20s persona the album pushes forward. With overly mixed and post-produced vocals, “Club classics featuring bb trickz” provides the energy needed to stay up all night long.
“Talk talk featuring troye sivan” is a stroke of genius. It’s a song sure to be used at your local SoulCycle studio. It’s catchy and promiscuous, demonstrating Charli’s chokehold on the Gen Z “girls and gays” demographic, frequently referenced on social media in reference to Troye Sivan’s fanbase.
For the third track, Grande provides the most striking vocals of the album in “Sympathy is a knife featuring ariana grande.” The song has the potential to be a 2024 pop staple with its unpredictable, yet cohesive, sound.
“Von dutch a.g. cook remix featuring addison rae” is notably heavy on the autotune, but unashamedly so. It often succeeds in portraying the ‘it girl’ energy that Rae channels in her own music.
“I’m just living that life,” Charlie and Rae sing repeatedly.
The notion of ‘that life’ is perfectly ambiguous because no matter what this means, the audience knows that Rae is still en vogue.
As a much-needed reprieve from the album’s weekend-heavy energy, a couple of songs feel like slow Sundays in college. These tracks feel like the hours of 3–9 p.m. on a Sunday, also known as prime hours for soul-searching sorrow and lingering flashbacks from the night before.
“I think about it all the time featuring bon iver” is a collab with surprising efficacy, with Bon Iver bringing his classic sound that creates profound meaning out of ordinary themes such as time and love.
Yet, some of the tracks in Charli’s new album feel boring and even unnecessary, such as “B2b featuring tinashe” and “Rewind featuring bladee”—perhaps an effect of the extensive tracklist that composes the 98-minute album.
In this ultimate encapsulation of brat-hood, Charli leaves fans reeling with her
release of Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat, an album definitely worth a listen, especially for women entering adulthood.
Charli’s fame is on the rise. This is undoubtedly not the last we will be hearing from the young starlet, as her brilliance embodies that signature shade of neon green that has since become a symbol of the never-ending girl party.
