The Japan Times - Charli XCX pivots from hyperpop in post-Brat album

The 33-year-old's seventh studio album tries to break from the hyperpop, hedonistic "Brat" which swept the summer of 2024 with its club-ready tracks.

"Music, Fashion, Film" is more understated, and like her tongue-in-cheek mockumentary released earlier this year, grapples with the insecurity that comes with global stardom and commercial success.

Littered with references to the worlds of music, film and fashion, the album explores themes of artistic immortality and identity.

The album's black-and-white vinyl cover is graced by titans of the three industries: Velvet Underground rocker John Cale, designer Marc Jacobs and director Martin Scorsese.

It comprises 11 compact songs featuring electronic and guitar riffs, the singer's signature deadpan lyrics, and a steady dose of nostalgia.

The closing track includes a narration from Canadian director David Cronenberg, whose cult film "Crash" inspired Charli's fifth album.

At the end of the song, called "No One Lasts Forever", Cronenberg says: "Yes, some artists have created art that has really survived thousands of years."

"But experientially, for them, they are dead, they are gone. They are not experiencing that."

The video for another song "Camera" features French actor Vincent Cassel, who himself collaborated with Cronenberg in a film last year.

Since concluding her "Brat" tour, Charli has made her own foray into film, writing the soundtrack for Emerald Fennel's adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" and starring in smaller acting roles.

In her mockumentary "The Moment", Charli plays herself fighting against music industry executives to evolve from her "brat" persona.

After its release, the singer said: "The 'me' in the film, I am really wanting 'brat' to stop and actually really pivot as far away from it as possible."

The album has received rave reviews from some, with The Guardian giving the "gorgeously astute and disarmingly deep" album five stars.

Billboard called it a "fascinating, addictive" addition to a body of work "that is quickly becoming one of the 21st century's most formidable".

M.Fujitav--JT