Charli XCX has come a long way since featuring on her and Iggy Azalea’s breakout hit, “Fancy.” While neither artist has had a song reach the level of ubiquity and success found by their 2014 hit, Charli XCX has remained a constant fixture in music discussion, evolving into an acclaimed artist for her boundary-pushing pop. She has enlisted producers like SOPHIE and A.G. Cook of PC Music, who, with their uncommercial and noisy synth production are drawing attention to and changing opinions towards the PC-Music style of aggressive synthetic textures. This change of opinions has happened right before our eyes in the span of less than a decade; just 3 years ago, Pitchfork called Charli XCX’s SOPHIE-produced Vroom Vroom EP “pointedly uncommercial and abrasive,” assigning a brutal rating of 4.5/10 — then in late 2017 and 2018, assigned Charli’s mixtape Pop 2 and SOPHIE’s debut album, both of which contained similar experimentation and musical textures, the title of “best new music.” Through much perseverance, Charli XCX seems to finally be setting her sights on dominating the conversation of a wider fanbase and showing the world that this type of music is the future.
As expected, the component of Charli most deserving of the highest praise and the most time is the production, this time directed primarily by A.G. Cook. Brash and loud like her previous works, the production complements Charli’s vocals and the overall tone, and produces some jaw-dropping moments. The switch-up in last 30 seconds of “Click” suddenly transforms a song about showing off into a futuristic battleground of cutting, staccato synths, and the intro to Cupcakke’s verse in “Shake It” is so chaotic that it almost makes sense when Cupcakke enters her verse at a whisper. While wildly entertaining in these moments, the all-out and louder textures on Charli are best when used sparingly and can sometimes lead to a messy feel.
The production shines best, though, when used to elevate a more structured pop song. A highlight of the album’s songwriting, “Cross You Out” is a duet with the elusive Sky Ferreira which features production that seems to update Sky’s own essential Night Time, My Time from 2013. The trading of imagery-filled verses about finding self-love after a breakup are given extra weight and drama by the explosive synths of the chorus. In addition, “Warm” takes from the softer side of PC Music, implementing a light vocoder and atmospheric instrumentals to create an ethereal feel in an already catchy pop track. And “Blame It On Your Love” enlists Lizzo and a bouncy beat to create an irresistible party.
Another element due for some praise is Charli XCX’s voice throughout the album. Not known for her mastery of pitch, Charli has always used the help of autotune and heavy vocal filtering, but she is able to change her tone like a chameleon, a quality that pairs well with her rapid-fire style and evolution throughout her career. Her voice can be quick and playful, like on the verses of “Blame It On Your Love,” or strong and clear like on “1999,” and her accent is also malleable. Through these many versions of her voice, though, Charli remains distinctly at the forefront of each track, even when several features are present.
As previously mentioned, though, Charli is not without missteps or fault. The fun is dampened by over-saturation or lack of restraint just a few times. The album’s producers are insanely talented, but sometimes the tricks seem too flashy or just unnecessary, coming off as messy. In addition, the track “White Mercedes” sticks out like a sore thumb stylistically, and placed at the center of the album, raises some question marks. At 15 tracks, very few artists can stay consistent in quality, and Charli is still better than most in this department.
To conclude, I’d like to apologize for writing yet another review of a new album by a female pop-adjacent artist. The truth is, as much as the mainstream radio presents pop as extremely stagnant, with few exciting new releases (I’m so sick of “Bad Guy,” “Talk,” and “Sucker,” which are still among the top 10 played tracks on radio), just-off-mainstream genres have been completely dominated, critically and publicly, by female voices in the last two years. With a drought of major releases from the Kendricks and Drakes, artists like Janelle Monae, Kacey Musgraves, Weyes Blood, Rosalía, and Lana Del Rey have released their best works, and deservedly taken a greater share of music conversations. And although none of these artists are sales or streaming behemoths yet, as they are all just outside of the mainstream style and image (but watch out for Rosalía), I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t urging you all to try something new. And if you’re not a PC Music fan, Charli will surely be something vastly different than what you’re used to.
Be First to Comment