Decoding Charli XCX's new album, Music, Fashion, Film pop's cutting edge for 10 years and her new album adds a rock sound to the mix Charli XCX was supposed to be taking a break.Her sixth album, Brat, was the sort of record you could genuinely call era-defining, without being accused of overstating its significance. Experimental but accessible songs like Guess, Apple and 360 propelled the star to new heights of fame. Her album was co-opted into Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign, and Collins English Dictionary updated its definition of Brat, to acknowledge its use as an adjective characterising the music's "confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude".
After a punishing year-long tour, the singer accepted a few acting roles, wrote the soundtrack to Emerald Fennel's adaptation of Wuthering Heights and married her longterm partner George Daniel.But instead of settling down, she found herself back in the studio."Out of the blue, inspiration struck me," she says. "I suddenly felt like I had something to say, so I ran with it."In a matter of weeks, she dashed off 11 short, guitar-based songs that tried to make sense of her whirlwind two years.The resulting album, titled Music, Fashion, Film, is smart, self-referential, funny, antagonistic and crammed full of moments to stimulate your inner earworm.Significantly, deliberately, it's not Brat 2.0. "If I'd made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad," she told Vogue in the first interview for the album, external."To be boring is to die right there on the spot," she added in a newsletter to fans, external.
"Give up, give in, go home, stay home, end it all."As a result, there's a lot to uncover in the music and lyrics. Here's what we learned.It's not a rock album ys her new songs started with guitar riffs, rather than being constructed on computers - but it's not a rock albumIn the aforementioned Vogue article, Charli played the interviewer a track called Rock Music, featuring the lyric: "I think the dancefloor is dead, so now we're making rock music".The publication took that as gospel, calling Music, Fashion, Film the star's "rock reinvention". Courtney Love accused Charli of being a troll.
Madonna captioned a photo, "If your dance floor feels dead, maybe you're playing the wrong music."But while guitars are the album's predominant sound, it's far from being a rejection of club music. Even the song Rock Music is full of manipulated vocals and electronic flourishes."I never said I was making a rock album," Charli posted on Instagram, explaining that the song was really about her relationship with the Brat album. "I've made electronic-leaning music for over a decade," she told music YouTuber Nicky Reardon. , external"That's shaped who I am as an artist. [Rock Music] is kind of about my pivot from that as an artist who doesn't want to continue to do the same thing over and over and over again."Three icons appear on the cover ords John Cale, Marc Jacobs and Martin Scorcese star on the album sleeveRather than a picture of Charli, the album is being promoted with a stylish black-and-white photo of Velvet Underground musician John Cale, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, and film director Martin Scorsese.The trio epitomise excellence in their respective fields - reflecting the album's overarching theme of art, excellence and immortality.The photo was taken in New York this April, by Scottish filmmaker Aidan Zamiri, who's been behind the camera for some of Charli's recent music videos, as well as her mockumentary The Moment."Honestly it was a really emotional day," the singer told BBC 6 Music's Nick Grimshaw, external.
"I was like, 'Wow, these three people mean so much to me personally as an artist'. And I couldn't believe that they were all together, you know? "We were so nervous and then when it was happening it was just honestly really sweet."Charli addresses the physical toll of touring Brat e only performer on stage for more than 90 minutes every night of her extensive Brat tourOn Rock Music, Charli admits that the head-banging physicality of the Brat tour ended up giving her nerve damage in her neck."It really impacts a lot on my sleep habits," she told Sam Murphy on the Pop Pod, external, saying the pain had got "progressively worse over the past couple of years".
"When I think about touring this record I do think I should probably be taking a different approach," she added. "But who knows where I'll end up on that front, you know? Sometimes I just can't stop myself."Fans got a glimpse of how things might change at a secret show in London last week, where Charli performed some of her new material for the first time.Flanked by a tight, three piece band, the set was less demanding from a body-slamming perspective, without sacrificing the energy of the music.Reviews weren't allowed - but let's just say the new material, with its distorted guitars and punchy drums, sounded even better live.Charli is still trying to work out who she is explores the tension between her public persona and her private lifeCharli's new songs find her grappling with whether she can stay true to her pugnacious, subversive roots while enjoying commercial success and personal happiness.The slinky single SS26 discusses the pressure on pop stars to do and say the right things.
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