Everything is, as it turns out, romantic

[Ah yes July 2024 – in which I explored the Brat summer we were all having.]

“Elsewhere in our starry galaxy, Taylor Swift makes the BBC news for a singalong in Scotland. Sabrina Carpenter’s adorably goofy vaudeville proves a gathering delight. Over and over, people confidently declare that country music is about to become dominant (again). And yet, and yet, here comes “BRAT”. In which Charli XCX appears to have made an album that is so potently post-modern (yet heaving under hummable, punch-the-air-able tunes) that maybe this concern for mainstream pop success has been a giant waste of time?

Bangerz. Aren’t we pop fans, basically in search of those, at all times? In a world where pop stars increasingly seem to want safety, aristocracy or status, here comes BRAT. Charli XCX’s latest feels like the distillation of everything she’s done, doubled down, purer still. A few impressions though god knows, you don’t need Kaput’s team to tell you whether to pay attention; but in short order:

• Poetry is sexy (again)

• Make it sound like you home-recorded (particularly if you absolutely didn’t)

• Immediacy, always.

• Make them want it, but move on before they understand it.”

Read the whole piece over at Kaput:

https://kaput-mag.com/critics_en/record-of-the_charli-xcx_brat/