Brat gloriously launches Charli XCX and the hyperpop genre into the stratosphere. The results are exemplary, infectious, charming, and endlessly delightful, with it being her best and most captivating work to date.
By now, you're probably well aware of Brat, the sixth studio album by English pop star, singer, songwriter, and certified brat Charli XCX. We're past what has been the iconic Brat Summer and we've ventured into Autumn. What album will define Autumn you ask? Cutouts, Fate & Alcohol, The New Sound? These are all super niche guesses that you probably don't know but my guess is as good as anyone's at this point. And, as usual, I am reviewing new event-sized albums that are months late and long after its explosively trends have died down. But honestly, Brat's been out for months at this point but its influence is still in the ether of popular music and is in no sights of dying down anytime soon, with it even having a highly anticipated remix album on the way (which is epically titled Brat and It's Completely Different But Also Still Brat). For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Brat has become a phenom that has expanded way past just its music. The looks, feels, aesthetics of Brat and its pixelated black font over its lime meets vomit green colored background have been established at nauseum and I certainly will add nothing to that conversation since I will never truly, fully understand it. But Brat's actual musical content is something I would love to cover and share my thoughts on. For starters, it's arguably the biggest album of the year critically. Any notable music site and publication you visit ranks it as one of the year's best if not the best. Although it's commercially done well overall since its release, it's been a phenom in mostly the niche pockets of internet subcultures and the more underground music world.
What's most notable about Brat are its themes and overall sound. Charli has been making music within the newly cultivated genre of hyperpop since the late 2010's, adding influence to many artists in the underground and mainstream, no thanks to people like PC Music label founder A.G. Cook, who frankly may as well be the godfather of the genre itself. There are other notable artists who've pushed the genre to its limits such as 100 gecs (who made my favorite album of 2023), whose member Dylan Brady has collaborated with Charli in the past and even helped make the excellent track "Guess" off of the deluxe version of Brat (which is ridiculously titled Brat and It's the Same but There's Three More Songs So It's Not). With her new album, Charli is pushing her sound forward, sharpening the edges off of her style while still making things a bit messy and chaotic at the same time. Brat is sharply broadening the genre's sound with rave and dance music all while making it more accessible for a wider audience, who may not like the genre's crazier and more experimental tendencies. The results are exemplary, infectious, charming, and endlessly delightful, with it being Charli's best and most captivating work to date.
Brat works as an ode to the 2000's English rave club scene and her time being engrossed within it. Executively produced by Cook, it's loud, it's mean, it's brash, it's aggressive, it's in your face. It features abrasive walls of electronics, bass, and noise. It's perfect to be listening to in a dirty, sweaty, druggy, dark club or at a sunlit spa for newly divorced mothers in Orange County. The album's track list is one hit after another without a dull moment, clocking in perfectly at a little over forty minutes in total runtime. The album opener "360" kicks the album off with a bang and is the perfect introduction to what you're in for: bouncy, bubbly bass and synths, a charming Charli singing about how she's bumping cocaine and is so Julia (in this case, being Julia Fox, who I had to look up because I'm not the most knowledgeable chap out there). "Club Classics" is one of the album's best and infectious moments that explodes into chaotic bliss with its speaker rattling bass, shimmering synths, and glitchy vocals, being an ode to her collaborators (dancing like the late Sophie, Cook, her fiancé George, the drummer from The 1975). "Sympathy Is a Knife" is playful with its autotune and quirky instrumental that's has Charli quite punky in her delivery.
There are absolutely incredible moments that make this album event-sized such as "Talk Talk," "Von Dutch," "Rewind," "Everything Is Romantic," "Mean Girls," and frankly the majority (or entirety) of this album. "Talk Talk" is an all out digital anthem about communication outside of the internet that has a hypnotic and huge instrumental. "Von Dutch" features elements of loud glitchy dubstep and it doesn't sound dated in the slightest, while "Everything Is Romantic" goes from being cinematic to blasting amplified noise. "Rewind" is the peppy tune that has Charli wishing she could turn back time and predicts that she will be too brash for the Grammys (which I would certainly hope not; this is certainly the album of the year contender that should win all the major awards). "Mean Girls" is a personal favorite that acts as an ode for all the typical people categorized as mean girls, with a stellar piano breakdown and an absolutely killer chorus and finale. "Girl, So Confusing" is a great singalong anthem that has Charli lamenting about a feud with a fellow pop singer, who ends up being revealed as Lorde, and the two impressively bury the hatchet on a remix (which is some awesomely planned marketing, I mind you).
There are surprisingly quieter, solemn moments on the album such as the sparse "I Might Say Something Stupid," the moody "So I," and the reflective "I Think About It All the Time." The more I think about it, the more it makes sense to have these spread out in the track listing since there are so many off-the-wall explosive songs, providing room for a nicely needed breath or two. These are nice tracks with "I Think About It All the Time" being the standout, which is about Charli contemplating having a baby and becoming a mother, which is surprisingly mature and wise coming from the youthful partier that Charli is portraying herself as. Ultimately I prefer the more upbeat moments but I still think these are necessary for a great album experience. There are other tracks such as the viral "Apple" and bouncy "B2b," which are both fun when they're spinning but they become more redundant when compared to the other tracks. "365" acts as a celebratory victory lap that expands the musical elements of "360" with a crazy bass-heavy finale that you have to listen to believe. It closes the album perfectly and I love how these two songs act as bookends. I don't typically talk about deluxe or bonus tracks in album reviews since they're not originally included on the initial album, but the three deluxe tracks are just as solid. "Guess" is one of the large highlights that goes absolutely hard and is quite raunchy, deserving an "explicit" label. "Hello Goodbye" is pretty anthemic and charming, while "Spring Breakers" is pretty confrontational and charismatic.
With infectious songs, hooks, off-the-wall production, charmingly brash lyrics, fun performances, it's hard not to love this thing, right? Brat is quite the album of the year contender and is deservedly so. It's a smart ode to her roots as a raver as well as an ode to her many contemporaries, collaborators, friends, and family. The album features one hit after another in one nonstop rotation, revealing plenty of fun bits and details with repeated listens. The production is excellent and its hyperpop aesthetics really take this genre into the mainstream, adding commercial appeal without losing its edge. I hope its influence will gain more new fans within the genre and it certainly makes me a fan of her music, which I wasn't expecting. It's full of personality, charm, originality, and quality music at a high level. Brat gloriously launches Charli XCX and the hyperpop genre into the stratosphere and I can only hope there will be more heights to be reached in the future.
My Rating: 9 / 10
Favorite Songs: "365," "360," "Club Classics," "Talk Talk," "Mean Girls," "Rewind," "Von Dutch," "Everything Is Romantic"
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