Brat Summer has given way to Bronte Winter.
It is hard to understate just how ubiquitous the BRAT album was in 2024. Charli XCX moved from a 3rd/4th tier pop artist, with an already lengthy career, into a bona-fide international sensation. Even more insane was the way she then put out Brat and its completely different but also still brat three months later and it was even better than the original. An insane supporting cast of talent including Bille Eilish, Robyn, Caroline Polachek, Bon Iver, Lorde and Julian Casablancas.
How do you follow that up? With great difficulty of course. Charli was finding it hard to be inspired when an offer came in to write a track for the new Wuthering Heights film. She loved the script and the concept of it so much so began writing a whole load of tracks and ended up doing a huge chunk of the soundtrack.
This is such a bold pivot from Brat it is close to being brilliant. ‘House’ is a stark, edgy effort with a new spoken word poem from The Velvet Underground’s John Cale over the top. ‘Wall of Sound’ has a wooziness that swirls around, almost mimicking the giddiness of falling in love. ‘Dying For You’ veers closer to Brat territory.
‘Chains of Love’ is a quite extraordinary effort. In the way Kate Bush was inspired by the novel to write the truly unique ‘Wuthering Heights’ Charli has found her own inspiration to write a superb, 80s vibing, pop ballad. ‘Altars’ initially sounds like it is going to kick into ‘There There’ by Radiohead before finding a mellower path. The rest of the album is equally engaging, working both as a soundtrack and a stand alone album.
It is going to be utterly fascinating to see what Charli XCX does at Reading Festival this year. A high profile guest spot seems likely, Lorde is in the area all week so whilst she seems unlikely to be announced as a full act (she is headlining All Points East and Forwards Festival) turning up to perform ‘Girl, So Confusing’ seems doable. How heavily will the Wuthering Heights tracks feature? As a two off show she could theme it around them in a way a tour probably wouldn’t.
The film seems a bit of a hot mess from the reviews so far, but any failures are certainly not down to this excellent set of inventive and interesting tracks.
Essential Tracks: ‘House,’ ‘Wall Of Sound’ and ‘Chains of Love.’
Leave a Reply