The new Charli XCX Album was released recently, and it’s an interesting listen. The album was made to be a soundtrack for the new “Wuthering Heights” movie, and considering the slightly darker, intense, romantic vibes of the movie, the album cannot follow the same sound as Brat. So, if you listen to it expecting to feel like you’re in the club partying it up, you’ll be disappointed.
The album is still not necessarily “boring,” however, it just doesn’t have the pop appeal Brat did. It’s more of a cinematic, muted sound. The best songs on the track are “Dying for You,” “Chains of Love,” and “Always Everywhere.” These songs stand out for their emotional presence and their memorability. It’s easy to forget a few tracks after listening to an album, but these are unforgettable.
The album is a more artistic, classically influenced album like Rosalia’s LUX. Though LUX has more foreign music and heavy classical influence, if you liked LUX, you will probably enjoy Charli’s new album.
So far, reviews have been a little mixed; some have said the new album does not compare well to her previous ones. Her previous works, like Brat, received overwhelming love, with thousands of 10/10 reviews, also causing a massive cultural shift. But the new album has a little less presence because again, it was made to be a background track for a movie.
Another flaw with the album is that the lyrics were tailored to the movie, so instead of being Charli’s usually unique, odd lyricism, the lyrics are more of a stream of consciousness flow or describing things that are happening in the movie. Unfortunately, this stream of consciousness style of writing is a bit worn out and predictable, which clashes totally with Charli’s style. Charlie writes lyrics like no one else, so having to tailor her lyrics to fit being background music for a movie kind of kills the joy of listening to her music a little.
However, despite these little flaws with the lyrics, Charli’s skills as a music producer make up for the lyrics and help keep the album enjoyable to listen to. Honestly, it is no Brat, but it’s still a pretty solid album on its own and definitely improved the movie as well.
