Charli XCX has imparted a new wisdom upon the world: listen with your eyes first.
That’s a case to be made after listening to Charli XCX’s latest album, “Brat.” It can be seen before listened to. The bright, inescapable green of the album cover is an ammonia to
the senses — it’s garish, harsh on the retina, but daringly so.
The album follows this tone. It’s mischievous, grungy and reckless. The rhythm pulses and changes in a way that hypnotizes.
The production is great — the bass is so powerful that it thrums in the chest. The intro to “Everything is romantic” beautifully deviates from EDM, immersing the listener with violins and woodwinds, before eventually dissolving into the acidic, edgy beats of club music.
On the album, Charli doesn’t care too much — often stringing together a slew of words to evoke a phantasmagoria of images, each epitomizing the spirit of “Brat”: hedonistic, impulsive, intoxicated.
See this in the following lyric from ”360”: “That city sewer slut’s the vibe/ Internationally recognized/I set the tone, it’s my design.” It’s about announcing who you are unapologetically. It transcends the definition of “brat” from the connotation of a spoiled child to someone who knows their worth and is unafraid to show it.
While the album evokes feelings of carelessness and doing what one wants, it surpasses the forced narrative of one-dimensional party-girl superficiality. Brat is unafraid to confess personal battles of insecurity and jealousy. Therein lies its magic.
Charli XCX provides listeners with vulnerability throughout the album. In “Apple”, the exhilarating tempo is juxtaposed by its darker themes of generational trauma.
Through “I think about it all the time,” Charli XCX explores themes of insecurity and existential anxiety with an upbeat rhythm and sweet vocals. “So I” is a beautiful, profound ode to grief and loss.
Her struggle with identity is seen again in “Girl, so confusing.” Its simple lyrics encompass a perpetual struggle. The album rejects the traditional associations of being a brat — and celebrates the feral antics of being a girl rather than demonizing it.
Although Charli declared “Brat” Summer to be over, the energy of the album surely persists. It has taken a new life, with Charli recently endorsing Democratic party nominee Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, which leaned into it using the aggressive green color and iconic typeface for social media.
Between the raw, unhinged poetry of the lyrics that transition seamlessly between irony and sincerity, and the catchy synth filled beats, Charli XCX offers catharsis.