i’ve been a big charli xcx fan for ages now, even seeing her live in 2022. throughout her career—along with producers such as sophie and a. g. cook—she has managed to constantly push the envelope in pop music.
i absolutely fell in love with her 2020 hyperpop record “how i’m feeling now”, and brat seems like a more grand and shameless realization of that sound. brat was supposed to be a “fuck you” album to the industry, after a failed mainstream pop record, charli did not care anymore.
this context is what makes brat sell its image. outside of the absolutely insane marketing, the music itself does not conform to modern pop standards. it is noisy, abrasive and more fitting a local rave than a radio station, which is what makes it so good. charli’s team of producers, who have been with her from the very start, have fully matured along with charli, creating what i think is the most perfect pop album in recent years.
ironically, in today’s counterculture era, this message resonated with many, turning brat into a bit of a phenomenon and launching charli xcx into the mainstream back again.
writing a long review for this album is kind of paradoxical so i guess the lesson is: the music slaps, be yourself and fuck the institutions.
