Offbeat: CFUV101.9FM –– on music
Graphic courtesy of CFUV.
Izzie Ramos-Foley (CFUV Volunteer, co-host of Swim Club) and Rowan Grice (CFUV Staff, host of Bench Mob) provide their thoughts on Charli XCX’s sixth studio album, BRAT, released June 7, 2024 with Atlantic Records.
Izzie
Charli XCX lyrically centres BRAT around the complexities of fame, womanhood, and navigating mainstream success. Sonically, BRAT takes you on a journey through the club.
Her last album, Crash, was a glittery, conventional pop-star moment for Charli, with shallow, commercially consumable singles like “Good Ones” and “Baby.” Charli has been riding the high of her incredibly successful single “Speed Drive” from Barbie, Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film. With the release of BRAT, Charli has begun revitalizing her career in an industry that perpetually replaces femme artists with each other. BRAT headbutts listeners with abrasive lyrics like, “Should I stop my birth control?” and “I’d go back in time to when I wasn’t insecure.” BRAT is a lyrically vulnerable clubpop record that exceeds expectations from her previous albums.
A.G. Cook, a hyperpop pioneer, produces many tracks on this record. He is known for running PC Music and working with artists like Hannah Diamond and GFOTY. Cook’s production adds a bumpy, harsh texture to BRAT. Charli’s vocals manage to convey dynamic emotions through thick layers of autotune. Her delivery is addictively blunt, particularly on her track “I think about it all the time”. Other production efforts come from electronic music giants such as Gesaffelstein and The Dare. BRAT seamlessly combines existential vulnerability with callous rave music; a huge win for party girls worldwide.
Rowan
My eyes unexpectedly begin to water as I listen to “So I,” track nine on Charli XCX’s new record BRAT. The track is a candid meditation on love and regret, honouring the late musician Sophie — a visionary producer and frequent Charli collaborator who passed away suddenly in 2021. Compared to the fun, cheekily braggadocious singles “Von dutch” and “365,” the sheer sincerity of tracks like “So I” is jarring, but refreshing. This theme continues throughout BRAT: moments of indulgence and hubris pitted against moments of insecurity and grief. On BRAT, Charli XCX masterfully asserts the oneness of these seemingly disparate emotions. Even in the club, we carry sorrow. Even in the depths of self-doubt, we carry swag — a net win.
