BRAT green is the color of the summer. Alt-pop icon and style reference to many, Charli xcx returned with BRAT, her sixth studio album, following 2022’s widely successful CRASH. The album contains 15 songs, with 3 extra available for listening on the deluxe version, sarcastically titled Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not. BRAT was crafted by Charli in partnership with tenured executive producer, A. G. Cook, and Easyfun, Tom Norris, Cirkut, her fiancée George Daniels, and other esteemed collaborators.
Already receiving the highest praise in the press, including #1 Best Album of 2024 by Metacritic, the album provides a dynamic, stellar range of tracks embodying all aspects of club culture. It covers the euphoria, insecurity, and everything in between. Known to push boundaries, it is no surprise that a large part of BRAT’s campaign included star-studded pop-up DJ sets, aptly named “PARTY GIRL.” These Boiler Room events amassed waitlists in the tens of thousands, and introduced the more chaotic part of BRAT’s essence, leaving much to be desired. Luckily, Charli will play more live shows starting this summer and fall, accompanied by Troye Sivan for the ‘Charli XCX & Troye Sivan Present: Sweat’ tour.
So, who, or what is BRAT?
Synthy and full of bravado, “Von dutch” provided a first glimpse into the album, released in February. The original track erupted in popularity, and the remix featuring Addison Rae and A.G. Cook left a blazing trail behind it as it spread across social media. Read our full review of the track here.
“Club classics” and “B2b” were the next two singles, released in April. The former is a shiny and springy Jersey club-style anthem, containing elements reminiscent of hyper-pop legend SOPHIE. The latter is a song unmistakably co-produced with Gesaffelstein, as it features his signatures of highly compressed percussion and a siren-like synth line. The lyrics comment on reconnecting with oneself after a relationship, saying “Took a long time / Breaking myself down / Building myself up / Repeating it.”
“360” completed the quartet of singles, released in May. Delivering similar vibes to “Von dutch,” it is a track with spunk and a hint of narcissism, saying “When you’re in the mirror, you’re just looking at me / I am everywhere I’m so Julia, ah, ah, ah.” The music video features a group of the internet’s it-girls, including the referenced Julia Fox, Alex Consani, Chloë Sevigny, Salem Mitchell, and more. “360”’s sister track “365” appears later in the album, sampling the former but adding more intense, compressed sounds and lyrics: “Dial 999, it’s a good time / Who the fuck are you? I’m a brat when I’m bumpin’ that.”
Next is “Sympathy is a knife,” a metaphor describing the self-esteem struggles of sharing industry space with other successful artists. It is conflicting to crave sympathy and acknowledgment but then feel worse after receiving it. Comparison is the thief of joy, and Charli bluntly recognizes this. Over a metallic dance-pop rhythm, she sings
Volatile at war with my dialogue
I’d say there was a God if they could stop this
Wild voice tearing me apart
I’m so apprehensive now
Charli xcx, “Sympathy is a knife”
“I might say something stupid” follows; a short, music-box-esque track that recounts the anxious thoughts of someone in a club bathroom. It is the “come down” off the previous energetic tracks, quietly contemplative. Charli writes, “Talk to myself in the mirror / Wear these clothes as disguise.”
Raising the vibrations again is “Talk, talk.” It is lush, bright, and somehow aquatic. When a long-distance situationship finally meets in person, who should make the first move? Especially in front of friends? Wanting to make things official, the lyrics say “I’m feeling like I’m on fire / ‘Cause we’ve been keeping this a secret.”
Fluttering, orchestral, and futuristic all at once, next is “Everything is romantic.” Calling back to themes discussed in “B2b,” Charli finds herself falling in love over and over. During her time in Italy, specifically Sorrento, she romanticizes unconventional things such as bad tattoos and “Jesus Christ on a plastic sign.” The juxtaposition of live instruments with lasers, synths, and Vocaloid may reference a theme of the “real” vs. “fake.”
Next is “Rewind.” Charli explores themes of self-perception and how modern trends such as face shape analysis and constant Billboard tracking make her yearn for older days. Being a woman in the music industry, she knows should be her own best friend and biggest supporter, but the digital world is a little too good at creating new insecurities. Charli sings, “I hate these doubts that keep running through my mind / Sometimes I really think it would be cool to rewind.”
Also speaking on womanhood is “Girl, so confusing,” which fans speculate could be about singer Lorde. Due to several long-standing cultural factors, friendships between women are often prone to unnecessary competition. Simply put, “Girl, it’s so confusing sometimes to be a girl…how do you feel being a girl?” The chorus is light and bouncy with adlibs that pan around like bubbles, while the verses are more stacked and crunchy.
Further developing this theme, “Mean girls” is an ode to girls who cause chaos in their wake, from breaking hearts to upsetting the masses. Save some niche corners of the internet, edgy, abrasive, and/or nonchalant women are not usually praised. Charli challenges this, suggesting that those very women carry parts of pop culture without people realizing it. She speak-sings, “Hedonistic with the gravel, drawl, and dead eyes…You said she’s problematic and the way you say it, so fanatic.”
Sentimental and heartfelt, “So I” is a dedication to late friend and collaborator SOPHIE. She first revealed the song at this year’s Billboard Women In Music ceremony in March. The lyrics recount moments of regret Charli feels about their relationship: “Wish I’d tried to pull you closer / You pushed me hard, made me focus.”
“Apple” soon follows. This upbeat art-pop track figuratively describes Charli’s familial relationships. As she’s fallen from the apple tree, she’s transformed and grown and considers one day expanding her family. Despite her traumas, Charli advances this train of thought in “I think about it all the time” where she asks
Should I stop my birth control?
‘Cause my career feels so small
In the existential scheme of it all
Charli xcx, “I think about it all the time”
While still a highly personal project, BRAT’s metaphorical finger is right on the pulse of modern gen-z/millennial experiences. Charli xcx redefines the meaning of a brat with this album, once again a successful trendsetter.
Join the hype and stream BRAT on Spotify and Apple Music, and check out Charli’s website for more information about tour dates and locations.
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