‘Brat’ has it all: versatility, vulnerability and Von Dutch! You might have seen Brat’s jarring bright neon green marketing campaign, perhaps as a meme, or more recently in Times Square. Brat could be considered Charli xcx’s breakthrough into the mainstream public’s consciousness, but quite frankly, there is nothing mainstream about it. Brat makes use of electronic production elements distant from the mainstream public perception of the pop genre. With its vulnerability and enthusiastic use of auto-tune, Brat is about being the life of the party, and the life after the party. If you, like me, are not familiar with Charli xcx I’ll tell you now that you’ll have to approach Brat with an open mind. Begin by disregarding the universal disapproval of auto-tune (and the British) and pay close attention to the lyrics.
You will be eased into the listening experience with a couple of dance tracks (360 and Club classics) before you hit the first round of unexpected introspection. ‘Sympathy is a knife’ for example, explores the nuance between being insecure while also being painfully self-aware – a double edged sword that paves the way to the following track. ‘I might say something stupid’ is a vulnerability statement where Charli briefly (but brutally) describes her feelings of isolation. However, it only takes her a couple more tracks to find herself hyped up again with ‘Von Dutch’, the perfect track to play at any stage of the party to maintain the high.
If you were worried that the album would be a constant up and down regarding introspection and hype songs, I’m pleased to introduce you to ‘Rewind’. A song that can be used double-time with 89 and 175 beats per minute, that reflects on all of the overthinking that comes along with a growing career, and the reminiscence of the days where it wasn’t there. In the same field, we can find an ‘Apple’. The viral song makes the perfect 15-second audio for a Tiktok, and it even has a dance to go with. The lyrics, however, are the star of the show. I think the apple’s rotten right to the core / From all the things passed down / From all the apples coming before / I split the apple down symmetrical lines / And what I find is kinda scary / Makes me just wanna drive. In case you had trouble understanding metaphors in your high school English class, the song attempts to understand generational trauma and navigating through the conflicting feelings that come along with that understanding. With these songs, the listening experience will depend on your mood. A personal recommendation is to not pay too much attention to the lyrics if you’re at the gym because you might get existential on a random Tuesday night.
Other highlights of the album are ‘Everything is romantic’, ‘So I’, ‘Girl, so confusing’ and ‘I think about it all the time’. These tracks showcase Xcx’s songwriting versatility, exploring themes like grief, romance, doubt, and even the contemplation of motherhood.
The closing track, ‘365’, makes cocaine fashionable again just in time for you to decide it’s not worth it. If you want to replicate the feeling, play the remix album ‘Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat’.