“If life imitates art, and we both know it,” she chants. Who do you trust with your true, faltering self? For Charli, who’s never afraid to look unflattering, it’s her audience. Two stunningly brilliant tracks tackle her journey to self-actualization through art. The melancholy, jittery “Camera” confronts her fears about whether she’s foolish for wanting to “throw my life away” to pursue acting. But the way it softens into a heavenly, firefly-lit rhapsody makes you understand exactly how freeing it is. Pop star-actors are always called dilettantes. Charli flips that idea: at any moment, a bolt from the blue might undo your sense of self and make you feel terrifyingly reborn.
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Brat pack: Charli xcx’s 20 best songs – ranked!
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Her actual birth appears on “I’m Afraid,” which explores how her insecurities might stem from her father not being there when she was born. Over spare, bass-heavy dissonance that echoes her wonderfully dark John Cale collaboration “House,” she screams about her fears of failing as a wife (she married 1975 drummer George Daniel last summer) when she’s just a drunk, numb, desperate kid—two more identities that don’t fit. “Take the ring, take the ring,” she yells; then she sounds exhausted as she admits she has to say these “complicated,” unspeakable things “so my insides don’t turn black.” That’s less about artistic purification than it seems: “All this pain makes me believe / I’m a better artist now / An excuse I tell myself / To act selfishly,” she admits. Does she contradict herself? Absolutely. Does that relentless urge to lay it all out for us—the ego and self-hate, the defensiveness and regret—make Charli our most consistently thrilling pop star? God, yes.
This week Laura listened to
Heavensouls – “Straight Rawhhhhhhhhh”
This week and every week since I discovered it: the 20-year-old Houston musician’s album Westside Trapped is a blurry, blown-out love letter to his Nigerian heritage. Among the lively Fela-worthy moments comes this wonderfully bitter, twisted blues. Alexis Petridis is away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about the review of Charli XCXs work specifically focusing on the themes of music fashion and film in relation to her Brat era and overall identity
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What does a slippery dive into identity mean in this review
It means the review explores how Charli XCX constantly changes her style music and persona She never stays in one lane making it hard to pin down exactly who she isand thats the point
2 Is this review just about her album Brat
No While Brat is a key example the review uses it as a launching pad to discuss her entire careerher music fashion choices and film appearancesto show how she plays with identity
3 Why does the review say her fashion hits just as hard as her music
Her fashion is a direct extension of her musics attitude The review argues that her bold often messy or sleazy fashion choices are just as intentional and powerful as her songs
4 Does the review think Brat is a good album
Yes The phrase hits just as hard is a compliment It suggests the album is aggressive confident and effective in its message about partying selfdoubt and fame
IntermediateLevel Questions
5 How does the review connect Charlis music to her film roles
The review suggests her film roles often mirror her reallife persona chaotic funny and unapologetically weird It argues she chooses roles that let her continue the slippery identity play she does in her music
6 What is the Brat aesthetic and why is it important to the review
The Brat aesthetic is a lowfi messy neon green vibe that feels raw and unpolished The review uses it as proof that Charli rejects the idea of a perfect polished pop star embracing a more chaotic authentic identity
7 Does the review criticize Charli for being inconsistent
No It frames her inconsistency as a strength The slippery nature of her identity is seen as a smart intentional artistic choice not a flaw
