Charli xcx’s “Music, Fashion and Film”
Charli completely broke up with the brat summer aesthetic and musical identity — there’s no turning back now. However, she managed to still remain herself, while turning into something different.
Each person has different nuances of themselves. Charli isn’t just a party girl, and that is something she made clear in “I think about it all the time”, but the general public wouldn’t ever grasp it in a single song — there’s too much going on and so many people to catch on. After the outburst that was brat, people can finally see sides of Charli xcx beyond the image of a coke-filled party addict.
After the biggest success in her career, something that would make most artists spend the rest of their career trying to replicate it, Charli xcx chooses to create something that is unlikely to become another mainstream phenomenon. It almost feels like she’s intentionally filtering her fanbase down to only real angels. Good for her. Passionate fans are way better for a healthy career than a lot of them.
Something I grew to quite admire in Charli, following her Letterboxd, was her taste in cinema. In this new project, despite being about music, fashion and film, I think it really emphasizes on the film part — the David Cronenberg collaboration, Charli’s virtual and media presence in the rollout, a film for the album, the choice of B&W in all media related to the album. I enjoy her being an actress, I think this is the correct approach to her career at this stage of her life.
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Using very characteristic electric guitar, bass and drums — albeit not the most outstanding ones, which doesn’t mean that they don’t excel at their purpose — , Charli combines what used to be her style, represented primarily by 808s, to something very pop rock-like. A rough description for Music, Fashion and Film would be a low-energy, somewhat depressing, nihilistic 2000s rock and drum ’n’ bass mash-up album — sung by Charli xcx.
Charli feels old. Charli feels like the world is going to end and that she’s wasting her life trying to make music. Charli feels that the void she has in her heart won’t be filled by her interests. However, she perseveres through this feeling. Love, primarily expressed by her recent marriage and her parents, may be enough to surpass these feelings. Suffering is a part of life, but it doesn’t need to be the ultimate orchestrator of it. Despite its low energy, I think the utmost message of this work is that you can be yourself, and question this self, and still be happy and creative. Nothing nor no one lasts forever, so we got to enjoy the ride.
Although it can’t be a direct inspiration, since the two artists are so different stylistically, I can’t help but think Olivia Rodrigo made rock n’ roll cool again. No better news than that.
The dance floor isn’t dead. It just gets boring if no one is willing to do something new. Charli isn’t afraid of innovation, and that’s ultimately what makes her such a compelling artist.
Favourite songs: Card Declined, 2007, Magic Metal Montana
