Charli XCX released her new club-ready album Brat on Friday. The release was preceded by the singles “360,” “Von Dutch,” “Club Classics” and “B2b.”
Brat is the singer’s sixth studio album and the record evokes and channels the illegal London rave scene where Charli started performing when she was 14 while still becoming more vulnerable than the singer has even been.
“So I,” which Charli previously performed at Billboard’s Women in Music event is perhaps the most touching of all: an emotional tribute to her friend, the late music producer SOPHIE.
The somber moments of Brat are far from the “diss” record some fans were expecting after the release of “Von Dutch,” where Charli sings “You’re obsessin’, just confess it, put your hands up. It’s obvious, I’m your number one.”
In a track called “I Think About It All The Time,” the 31-year-old weighs the options of having a child and how that could potentially be more important than her career. Another song “Girl, So Confusing” sees Charli openly discuss a complicated friendship with another girl in the industry.
That’s not to retract our previous statement that this record is fully club-ready. Aside from the singles, Brat still offers many beat driven dance tracks like the standout “Talk Talk” where she wishes for a lover to communicate more efficiently.
In all, Chali’s sixth record is a culmination of how far she’s come as an artist even as she tries to battle that concept. It showcases her signature electro pop sound, but infuses much more honesty than she has ever put on display. She has mastered the craft and delivered something special that has the ability to stand out on its own in an increasingly crowded year of music.
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