Note: The following album review was written just as school ended in June 2024. That was well before the massive cultural influence of BRAT since its release. Our Co-Editor-in-Chief just posted a follow up commentary at the end of what has been dubbed “brat summer.”
I’m not a party girl. Despite what you may have heard, I usually prefer to retreat into my own room rather than go clubbing on weekends and let loose. So, then, this review may come off as more of an outside perspective on the hedonistic it-girl lifestyle Charli XCX’s BRAT embodies. That’s okay. To all the girls who “worship Lana Del Rey in [their] AirPods,” I’ll join you for a 41-minute listening session (49 in the much-appreciated deluxe edition).
One of the year’s most anticipated and well-received releases, BRAT is only the latest in a string of albums from Charli XCX, slowly peeling away at the universally relatable yet singularly indulgent person within the unfazed party animal. This is no different: more club-focused than her other pop (or “hyperpop”) efforts, BRAT lets us in on the common troubles of a self-assured primadonna while maintaining all the coolness inherent to her outward persona. With 100 gecs-reminiscent self-aggrandizement and vocals, the brat flaunts her untouchability and separation from it all, only to lapse into vulnerability after the perpetual night out. You don’t need a dancefloor to have felt the same.
This wavering between humanity and goddess-status isn’t the main appeal of the album, however. It’s both undeniably catchy yet starkly distinct from all the other big pop releases of 2024. Though albums like The Tortured Poets Department or HIT ME HARD AND SOFT give rise to the view that this is the year of alt-pop, the production of BRAT (however laudable those of the other two albums, especially that by FINNEAS of the latter) sounds completely different from the rest of the genre’s vanguard. This isn’t always a good thing, mind you; here, it is. Songs like “So I”, a tribute to hyperpop pioneer SOPHIE, all-around banger “Everything is romantic,” or “365,” the album’s closer and arguable sequel to opener “360,” distinguish BRAT as a tour de force of production. Taking the torch from last year’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan, the combination of sultry and honest themes with genuinely creative pop experimentation results in greatness.
That doesn’t mean this album is perfect. My admittedly-imperfect measure of musical quality, obsessability, wasn’t so strong with many of the songs. They were good and worked well together, but the individual ones didn’t especially stick out to me as being pure, pure genius that wouldn’t escape my ears till a thorough hundred or so listens. That’s not especially true, though, because many of the songs genuinely are great. It’s just a matter of them “clicking”, and for others, they may click on the first listen. The album’s singles mostly fall into this category. “360” is a great beginning to BRAT, setting the right vibe for what’s to come. It completely deserves the attention it’s so far received, and this isn’t the last I’ll be hearing of it. “Von dutch,” too, now taking on the entirety of the self-embellishment, features some of the catchiest melodies of the entire album. “Girl, so confusing,” pivoting to an open reflection, speaks most directly to the listener. “She’s so me” is the response. The version featuring fellow pop pioneer Lorde perhaps increases the authenticity of the song’s sentiments. In fact, all the other singles I’ve mentioned have featured other artists like Addison Rae and Robyn, allowing Charli’s peers to join in on the experience. I for one nominate Caroline Polachek or Phoebe Bridgers to come next, but that’s just me.
So if none of the songs on the standard album have really clicked for me yet, why do I sing the praises of BRAT? It’s for the three songs added on the deluxe album, actually, aptly titled Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not. It makes more sense to me that a main album would have all of the “best” songs so that the additional releases would compliment a slightly greater work rather than constitute the best version of the work themselves. Logic left this late-night club album several hours ago, however, and so all three of the songs added to the deluxe are some of the best of the entire BRATdom. “Hello goodbye” is outrageously catchy, further accrediting the notion that this is a fantastically-produced LP. It’s interesting, it’s fun, it’s what pop should be. Contrastingly, “Guess” is much more serious, but no less of a banger. A darker song that elicits all the best of those like Fred again… with, again, some Chappell Roan-influenced dirt and grime to it, “Guess” has all the juicy sleaze that pop-adjacent imitators of the style wish they had (sorry not sorry, Matty Healy). The last song, re-closing the album, may be the most well-received, though. “Spring breakers” is mean and aggressive. The tense, panicked music added with the cold, unfeeling delivery by Charli confirms to the listener that, despite the album’s more tender moments, Charli is still here to party and not care one bit. Who can afford to? We may all be human, but when life is cutthroat, we must be as well, “fingers on the detonator.”
If you’re looking for new music to listen to, I have to recommend BRAT. With something appealing for all, party girls and not, I have no doubts that you’ll thank yourself for listening to the album and its three additional songs. After all, they’re club classics.
