Saying something about Charli XCX that hasn’t already been said grows increasingly difficult with each passing release. She occupies the rare place of being both a critical darling and a consistent commercial success, and it’s truly no wonder why.
XCX has quietly been one of the most exciting voices in pop for some time now, having a unique ability to inject humor, introspection and an experimental edge into otherwise standard pop songs. Her latest record, the succinctly-titled “Charli” is not only no exception to the string of excellent records from XCX, it’s perhaps the most shining example of her sheer talent in her discography.
“Charli” starts strong, kicking things off with the glitchy and heavily electronic “Next Level Charli,” which serves as an apt description of what’s to come. The song is off-kilter, with a frenetic energy that emphasizes the use of repetitive vocals over a driving, bassy beat that lays on top of a vaporwave-influenced synth part.
XCX’s swirling repetitive vocals on this opening track are nearly dizzying in a euphoric sort of way, and that euphoria carries over into the following track, “Gone.”
“Gone” features vocals from French vocalist Christine and the Queens, an incredible synthpop track that calls to mind recent work from producer Jack Antonoff, but with a more computerized, almost house-style beat.
But while the track maintains the bright sound established on the previous track, its darker, introspective lyrics betray that sound.
“I feel so unstable,/ f—-ing hate these people,/ how they’re making me feel lately,” XCX sings on the chorus, revealing deeper anxieties than the beat might have suggested. In this way, XCX captures the true feelings of anxiety in a stirring way: despite everything sounding good around her, XCX is trapped within a haze of insecurities.
Insecurities, in fact, make up a consistent theme throughout the record, cropping up in nearly every song, even the happiest ones.
Mid-album cut “Blame It on Your Love” hears XCX discussing relationship issues that stem from her own insecurities, suggesting she isn’t deserving of the love she receives from her partner. The track’s featured vocalist, the incomparable Lizzo, has a verse that feels very much like positive advice from a friend: suggesting that XCX should focus on positivity.
It’s obviously hard for her, though. On “White Mercedes,” which immediately follows, XCX continues the theme established on the previous song, slowing things down significantly to tell her partner about her inability to open up.
“Don’t say you love me, ‘cause I can’t say it back,” she sings with a quiet sadness in her voice. “Don’t say you’re sorry, ‘cause you’ve done nothing bad,” she adds, before returning to the theme that she doesn’t deserve her lover.
It’s a sweetly sad song that sees XCX suggesting she hopes she can get better for her partner, but it ends on a sour note: “All I know is I don’t deserve you,” she repeats over and over.
But despite the darker lyrical themes on many of the songs, “Charli” sees some of XCX’s most driving, fun songs. It also sees her at her weirdest.
A great example of the weirdness comes toward the end with “Shake It,” a song that feels like a crazy electronic take on New Orleans bounce music. Featuring vocals from Big Freedia, Brooke Candy, Pabllo Vittar and the typically obscene cupcakKe, this track is absolutely nutty. It’s one of those songs that feels incredibly difficult to sum up in a sentence or two, but it takes so many wild twists and turns over its 4-minute run time that it feels wildly experimental.
But XCX finishes things on a somber note with the Troye Sivan-featured “2099,” once again focusing on her own insecurities before the track collapses in on itself like a faulty futuristic computer.
It strikes me here that “faulty futuristic computer” is a great way to describe XCX’s whole sound across “Charli.” Finding her way deep inside her insecurities, XCX creates some of the most exciting pop songs of the year, complete with electronic experimentation that doesn’t normally end up on a record from a chart-topper like her. Combined, it all feels like XCX is the future of pop.
