Image source, EPA Image caption, Charli XCX has been at pop's cutting edge for 10 years and her new album adds a rock sound to the mix
Music correspondent Published 3 hours ago Charli XCX was supposed to be taking a break.
Her sixth album, Brat, was the sort of record you could genuinely call era-defining, without being accused of overstating its significance.
Experimental but accessible songs like Guess, Apple and 360 propelled the star to new heights of fame.
Her album was co-opted into Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign, and Collins English Dictionary updated its definition of Brat , to acknowledge its use as an adjective characterising the music's "confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude".
After a punishing year-long tour, the singer accepted a few acting roles, wrote the soundtrack to Emerald Fennel's adaptation of Wuthering Heights and married her longterm partner George Daniel.
But instead of settling down, she found herself back in the studio.
"Out of the blue, inspiration struck me," she says. "I suddenly felt like I had something to say, so I ran with it."
In a matter of weeks, she dashed off 11 short, guitar-based songs that tried to make sense of her whirlwind two years.
The resulting album, titled Music, Fashion, Film, is smart, self-referential, funny, antagonistic and crammed full of moments to stimulate your inner earworm.
Significantly, deliberately, it's not Brat 2.0.
"If I'd made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad," she told Vogue in the first interview for the album , external .
"To be boring is to die right there on the spot," she added in a newsletter to fans , external . "Give up, give in, go home, stay home, end it all."
As a result, there's a lot to uncover in the music and lyrics. Here's what we learned.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The singer says her new songs started with guitar riffs, rather than being constructed on computers - but it's not a rock album
In the aforementioned Vogue article, Charli played the interviewer a track called Rock Music, featuring the lyric: "I think the dancefloor is dead, so now we're making rock music".
The publication took that as gospel, calling Music, Fashion, Film the star's "rock reinvention".
Fans recoiled. Courtney Love accused Charli of being a troll. Madonna captioned a photo, "If your dance floor feels dead, maybe you're playing the wrong music."
But while guitars are the album's predominant sound, it's far from being a rejection of club music. Even the song Rock Music is full of manipulated vocals and electronic flourishes.
"I never said I was making a rock album," Charli posted on Instagram, explaining that the song was really about her relationship with the Brat album.
"I've made electronic-leaning music for over a decade," she told music YouTuber Nicky Reardon. , external
"That's shaped who I am as an artist. [Rock Music] is kind of about my pivot from that as an artist who doesn't want to continue to do the same thing over and over and over again."
Image source, Charli XCX / Aidan Zamiri / Atlantic Records Image caption, John Cale, Marc Jacobs and Martin Scorcese star on the album sleeve
Rather than a picture of Charli, the album is being promoted with a stylish black-and-white photo of Velvet Underground musician John Cale, fashion designer Marc Jacobs, and film director Martin…