Album review: Charli xcx’s BRAT
Written by Alina Velasquez on June 19, 2024
On June 7, 2024, Charli xcx released her sixth studio album, BRAT, an electro-pop album featuring fifteen tracks. This record is filled with fun electro-pop anthems about her celebrity status, relationship status and other intimate vulnerabilities hidden behind gothic synths over breakbeats and heavily affected vocals. Charli began teasing BRAT in February releasing “Von Dutch,” the first single of the album. Just three days after the LP’s release, the singer dropped an extended version called Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so its not.
In her 16-year evolution from raver to “your favorite reference, baby,” Charli’s confidence is on full display as she flexes her celebrity status on all three singles from the album. Both “360” and “Club classics” give shout-outs to club culture and artists, referencing Julia Fox, AG Cook, George Daniel and Sophie before saying “When I get to the club, I wanna dance to me.” “Von Dutch” continues to deliver as she taunts a jealous hater with a siren-like melody – “I’m your number one.”
On the contrary, Charli also showcases a more vulnerable side in other tracks. In the ballad “I Might Say Something Stupid,” the singer feels rejected, saying, “I don’t feel like anything special / I snag my tights on the lawn chair.” In “Mean Girls,” she shows an understanding of how quickly an artist can conform to clichés and describes the love-hate feelings these clichés can inspire. The tracks hop back and forth between strong and confident to vulnerable and insecure, shining a light on the struggles the real Charli deals with every day.
Charli xcx’s BRAT showcases her vulnerability and creativity while still giving the club bangers she is known for. Her lyricism is beautiful and her voice continues to grow as she gets more experimental in her sound. Charli has truly outdone herself.
