Charli XCX

Charli prides herself

Anyone going to San Antone?

fantastic album. first super iconic album of the summer to feel like it's genuinely crossing over in a while. i pray this is puts the final nail in the dua lipa/espresso disco-house sound

there are a few moments where the 1975 influence really leapt out at me. the intros of 'talk talk' (particularly the guitar lick that echoes in and out) and 'girl', basically all of 'apple'

love (and relate to) the plainly earnest lyrics on 'i think about it all the time'

i'm concerned that '365' will influence many young girls to do cocaine. but it's a great song

recently moved into a new place across the street from two night clubs. i heard 'sympathy' and 'von dutch' from my bedroom last night :)

i pray this is puts the final nail in the dua lipa/espresso disco-house sound

i'm tired of it too, but 'illusion' goes pretty hard imo

it kinda feels like an electro-house revival moment?

charli xcx that is

like dr luke era kesha sounds really good with it

xp ya they're all good songs but its just tired https://ddrake.substack.com/p/disco-and-techno-are-boring

obviously it worked out for her from a career pov but dua lipa starting out with 'new rules'--which had that really cool kinda dancehall drop in the chorus plus some tropical house touches--seemed poised to bring in some new sounds, but instead regressed into disco hole

dua lipa album defender here but i don’t really think her new record is very disco at all. sabrina carpenter’s sound is obv very tired and pale. not sure i’d put it in direct opposition with charli’s recent work bc it sounds like “the wackier pop music is better than the straightforward pop music” which is a thesis i reflexively disagree with, but also i don’t like this record and find it difficult to articulate why

fwiw (thnx for the link flopson) I think the problem I describe there was kind of wrapping up already in some ways—its a complaint about the streaming era, but the last year or so things have really shifted & acts like Chappell Roan have managed to garner careers off the more 'random' seeming personality-driven whims of short form video content aka reels/tiktok, which have really taken over in terms of breaking new acts from the streaming playlisting that led to the 'aesthetic glut' of nu-disco (or rod wave type music, or griselda type music, or etc.)

espresso felt like a hangover from that era

deej, thanks for writing, that's a great read, lots to chew on. It explains why I can't warm to Roan or Carpenter other than discrete moments: the tracks sound like potholes over which impressively thick pavement has been patted down.

dua lipa album defender here but i don’t really think her new record is very disco at all

there's some other stuff in the mix but 'end of an era', 'houdini', 'watcha doing', 'illusion', 'falling forever' all have octave hopping basslines and/or disco drum beats... that's like majority of the non-ballads

'brat' isn't particularly wacky imo, just feels fresh to me relative to what's been popular the last few years

It explains why I can't warm to Roan

i don’t think roan is a part of what deej is describing either!!!

maybe her worst song, “after midnight,” which has no traction afaict

the tracks sound like potholes over which impressively thick pavement has been patted down

savage burn lol

I still can't decide how I feel about this album. When I'm not in the mood it sounds hollow and slightly annoying but when I'm in the mood it sounds like her magnum opus and it's the most fun album I've heard in ages.

it’s my fav album of here since “sucker”

I keep switching between loving and hating it. At any rate I feel happy for her. I want her to win.

I kept thinking it reminded me of something else and just realized “So I” is very similar to “no one dies from love”… a song I discovered via the ILM 2022 EOY poll.

"So I" is beautiful and feels very honest about grief. the line about not knowing how to react and watching her dance online ..

other highlights for me are "mean girls" - that piano breakdown (wtf??) into the end is glorious. and "the girl so confusing" - does a great job communicating the appeal of a frienemy relationship

other than that it's a little hit or miss for me, maybe it'll grow on me idk. production is consistently a joy to listen to though.

Seems like she could have said nothing

I kept thinking it reminded me of something else and just realized “So I” is very similar to “no one dies from love”… a song I discovered via the ILM 2022 EOY poll.

Ugh disregard that first line, left over from a previous comment

"Mean Girls" is the only song here I really dislike. Possibly because it's pretty obviously a Dimes Square/Red Scare tribute.

It is impressive that in a spring/summer where nearly every female pop star dropped an album (Beyonce, Arianna, Taylor, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello) BRAT feels like it's getting the most love.

lol is the camila cabello album any good?

It helps that Charli has always had the critics on her side, is perceived as an underdog in mainstream pop and has an album that flows as a mix and has very few duds in it. It’s also very meta and confessional which always wins points. Feels like it could’ve been her farewell album if it failed.

The Dua Lipa was disappointing, Camila Cabello is trying to find an identity without nailing it and the rest of them are doing fine.

Also it might just be my perception but it seems to me like Ariana, Taylor and Beyonce stopped any campaigning for their albums after release.

Oh no wait I see Ariana was doing “the boy is mine”single promotion recently.

i think very few ppl would say the beyonce, ariana, taylor, dua, billie albums are the best of their careers — in some cases not even anywhere close — whereas all the charli fans i know rate this is as very close to their favorite album of hers if not above all of them. there is real genuine enthusiasm for the music that is helping charli transcend her baseline audience relative to bigger artists

I’d say the Billie Eilish one is probably her best so far but it’s not operating in the same level as Brat where the album does feel like it’s achieving a vision. The Billie Eilish album sounds all over the place in comparison.

If y'all are looking for an example of someone converted by this album, hi!

nice!

I wouldn't say I've been converted by this album per se but it feels like it meets the moment in a way I don't think any of her other albums since the debut did for me.

('How I'm Feeling Now', which came out on my birthday 4 years ago, might have gotten there, but I was largely distracted by, first, my birthday, and then by The 1975's Notes on a Conditional Form the following week and thereafter)

I think it narrows down to… if I was in my early 30s (as charli is) instead of my late 30s this would be my favorite thing in the world. I think I’m frustrated with it because it reminds me of how old I am. I would have loved to have music like this be popular 10 years ago.

It makes me feel like the neighbor complaining about the awesome party next door.

This is a me thing obviously. The album is great in the right context. It will probably age terribly which is why I’m not 100% on board with it, but this album is not trying to be indisposable.

Random question but this is the thread for her, so: do any other Charli songs sound like "Valentine"?

being gay is so interesting cuz i’m like “the entire world is listening to brat rn it’s crazy” meanwhile all top 100 spots on billboard are occupied by people i’ve never heard of with names like “Blickford Crawfish” and “Zuff”

— P.E. Moskowitz (@_pem_pem) July 2, 2024

I am an English Professor who turned 50 this year and I am really enjoying this album. I recognise I am not target market.

the Camila Cabelo record is excellent… is it possible that there is no Camila thread or Fifth harmony thread?

i'm fully on board with this after a second listen. the only thing i don't like here is the 'i want a baby' song. personal hangup there definitely. 'sympathy is a knife', that stuff about buying a gun and casual mention of suicide, lots of big emotions there sharply communicated. 'everything is romantic' is so affirmative, again really sharp about it. songs like 'talk talk' and 'rewind' are just sweet, that outro on 'rewind' is the sound of nostalgia. 'apple' i still don't really remember lol. '365' god ok it's a little too drug fueled for me tbh but for the drug fans i hear the blast-off. my favorite thing here is still the second half of "mean girls". i wonder who played the piano part? it sounds like someone actually played it - pretty impressive! anyway that hook puts a big smile on my face.

i'm fully on board with this after a second listen. the only thing i don't like here is the 'i want a baby' song. personal hangup there definitely.

You mean “I think about it all the time”? It’s one of my favorite ones in here because I love those tiny sounding clippy drums. Reminds me of LCD’s “someone great” which might be a conscious reference as that one is about having an abortion.

Oh wait just checked and it’s about the death of james’ therapist actually… I remember reading it was about a miscarriage or an abortion and I guess it’s not.

the Camila Cabelo record is excellent…

lil nas x is decent on 'he knows'. 'i luv it' makes me feel like i need to pop a dramamine. very spring breakers video. i wish i liked her voice more but it's still just too pretty bows and rainbows for me even as she tries to go harder.

production on those tracks is trying new things but doesn't really gel imo.

I cranked the album today and while I’ve got over my more extreme positivity, I’m left wondering whether “sympathy” might be her single best song ever

judging by my twitter feed, yesterday’s “kamala IS brat” tweet single-handedly brought about a 180 degree negative vibe shift on the album. amazingly poor reading of the winds

interesting feed you have

‘for you’ tbh but still