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Charli XCX, once a mainstream upcomer in the early 2010s, has defied all odds in remaking herself into one of pop music’s most eclectic names. Her breakout in Icona Pop’s 2014 hit ‘I Love It’ sees her anthemic singing spearhead its way through the mind of many listeners. Her acquaintance with electropop, however, is one that turns itself into her greatest strength as she diverges away from the stasis of her contemporaries. In the years since then, she has built a reputation for preferring an abrasive, unconventional type of production that does not erode her knack at catchy choruses. 2019’s Charli and 2020’s How I’m Feeling Now are both regarded as some of the most innovative records in the past few years for its unpredictable beats, lending credence to the hyperpop trend. 

With Brat that was released this year, Charli switches up her tune for a bit. She might be a party girl at heart, but she still has her own personal life and emotive issues to handle even if that comes with the privilege of it being on her own terms. Her engagement with the 1975’s George Daniel and the anxieties that come with being in your early thirties manifest itself in several instances of outside-the-box presentation of her dance-oriented style. This shows in ‘I think about it all the time’ with its theme of wanting a child. The stuttering, staccatoed clicks and glitchy vocals to add layers to the beat compliment the dissonance that comes with it. Yet, there is a heartfelt subtext that makes Charli particularly unique amongst most popstars. This is further supported by ‘Girl, so confusing’ and ‘Talk talk’ where the bass-boosted synths and pumped-up percussion circles around self-image and the fear of feeling left out.

In turn, much of Brat aspires to balance out club bangers with confessional insights into her complex reality that is not bound to her image. The bass and the synths in ‘360’ makes for an infectious exposition that puts into motion Charli’s status as a diva, yet its braggadocious lyrics conflict with the no-fucks-given attitude that peered through. Yet, this flips on its head with the glitchy ‘Sympathy is a knife’ which fantasises suicide due to all of the bottling up of feelings and anger. The synths also take on a harsher tone that adds to the sense of anxiety. This gets backed with the banger that is ‘Von dutch’ which tackles parasocial obsession, knitting the auto-tuned vocals with the backing drones with no shame over her status. ‘Everything is romantic’ plays around the mixing to add a lot of gravitas to portray the phoniness of how we imagine love to look like. The ways that she turns her struggles into danceable tour-de-forces is nothing short of great!

The more conventionally “sad” music sees the synth be played more dissonantly with the rest of the production becoming more minimalistic in its density. Take ‘I might say something stupid’ which shows Charli’s feeling of disillusion between her celebrityhood and her status as an underground darling; the slower tempo helps to fit the melancholic feeling of not fitting in. ‘So I’ expresses the feeling of longing to make up in an estranged romance through its polyrhythmic metronome and deep notes that gradually builds as the admittance erred towards emotional expression. ‘Apple’ twists around the classic idiom about family similarity to convey the impossibility of straying away from them even as you start your own. The more upbeat scale contrasts with the otherwise sober acknowledgement that you might not distance yourself away from your kin as easily as imagined. Such a similarity occurs in ‘Mean girls’ and ‘Rewind’ which respectively challenges female representation and body image through bopping tunes.

Other times, Brat focuses simply on providing complete and utter bangers to fill in the gap. While it might not have helped much in enabling the music to come together into a conceptual whole, it is still an exciting listen to get into the groove. ‘Club classics’ sees the “be right now” vocal sample form the backbone of a catchy ode to the artists that help to popularise deconstructed club or hyperpop. This includes the late SOPHIE whose sheer chaotic production style serves as a profound influence in making Charli’s music take on a considerably more avant-garde approach. ‘B2b’ contains the phraser within the production to highlight the pride of independence in not wanting to fall back into an unhealthy relationship. The final track in ‘365’ eschews all introspection and self-reflection in favour of just focusing on what Charli does best – making a complete hooker of a song that represents her creative apex. The zany vocal manipulation and skittering beat makes for a splendid foundation that’s backed with the catchiest, somewhat non-annoying repetition of “bumping that” in visualising the clubbing lifestyle. It’s a dope, dope way to close out the record.

Brat could well stand on its two legs as Charli’s best work given its balance of both danceable tracks and more introspective deep cuts that invites a peek into the artist’s personal life. While it could be polished up in terms with the small parts of cohesion, the record otherwise snaps hard in its production and its thematic self-reflection. It serves as a big step in potentially diversifying the kind of music that could be played when it comes to pop, both with its use of electronic instrumentation and even in its songwriting. Fans of EDM will enjoy the record as do those who prefer a more experimental kind of electronica in general. It is definitely a gem that is worth checking out.

4.4/5