Whether it’s the chart-topping queer pop of Chappell Roan or the catchy songwriting of Sabrina Carpenter, it’s safe to say this summer has proved that pop is in good hands. But a certain lime green album shines above the rest.
In a year when the messy indie sleaze aesthetic has Generation Z in a chokehold, “BRAT” by Charli XCX couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time. Released June 7, it’s already the highest-rated album of 2024 so far on Metacritic.
Its simplistic album cover quickly became an emblem of the chic and chronically online on social media.
Though on its face it’s a collection of hyperpop, EDM and club music, the album digs deeper and shows a side of an internet it-girl we don’t often see.
This is not to say her previous work lacks depth — her 2020 album “How I’m Feeling Now” delves into a pop perspective of the frustration we all experienced during the COVID-19 lockdown. And I’m not afraid to say that her 2014 hit “Boom Clap” is a Tumblr-era classic and will always hold a special place in my heart.
But where “BRAT” rises above the rest is in its consistency. There isn’t a skippable track on the album, which can be difficult when the songs jump between different styles and attitudes.
Throughout the record, Charli explores the dichotomy of her identity as a bratty club kid who doesn’t care what others think versus the part of her that second-guesses herself and questions the life she’s built.
Take “Mean girls” for example, an anthem she writes for today’s stereotypical 20-something who worships Lana Del Rey and wakes up in last night’s makeup. Or the track “Von dutch” where Charli confidently claps back at her naysayers. With lines like “it’s okay to just admit that you’re jealous of me” and “it’s so obvious I’m your number one,” the track shows the side of Charli we are used to seeing.
Yet in other songs, she flips the script. In “I might say something stupid,” we hear Charli’s inner monologue as she overthinks her actions at a party, an eerily relatable track for anyone who’s felt out of place in a social situation.
Charli wants the listener to know that blatant confidence and self-scrutiny can exist simultaneously.
The idea of duality is everywhere, from the upbeat opening and closing tracks “360” and “365”, to the catchy choruses of “Talk talk” and “B2b.”
This concept also ties to a broader theme of gender roles in the 21st century.
In the wake of phrases like “girl dinner” and “I’m just a girl,” it’s refreshing to see a depiction of girlhood that isn’t one-sided or simplified. The personality Charli depicts in her music is simultaneously fearless and insecure; self-assured and vulnerable.
Granted, it’s not all relatable. Feeling embarrassed by calling up the paparazzi isn’t an experience shared among the average person, but her raw lyricism makes up for any lost connection.
The album’s moving ninth track “So I” contemplates her memories and regrets about her friendship with her longtime collaborator Sophie Xeon, who went by the stage name SOPHIE.
SOPHIE, who passed in 2021, was a major inspiration for Charli. It's clear the singer is haunted by the things she didn’t get to do with her before her passing, with lyrics like “your star burns so bright (Now I really wish I stayed)” and “guilty feelings keep me fractured.”
The song “I think about it all the time” gained media attention for Charli’s candidness about her future, especially the idea of motherhood. She questions her career choices and the near-future possibility of having children.
As the album's second to last song, it feels like an intimate conversation you would have with a longtime friend who’s seen you at your highest highs and lowest lows.
Lines like, “She's a radiant mother and he's a bеautiful father; And now they both know thesе things that I don't,” read like a stream-of-consciousness diary entry. Her candidness in saying “Should I stop my birth control? Cause my career feels so small in the existential theme of it all,” is a rare glimpse into the real-life questions she asks herself.
But of course, it wouldn’t be a Charli album without a dance-worthy ending. The closing track “365” is a call to action — grab your friends, get up and dance.
At the end of the day, “BRAT” is Charli’s best work so far. Though it’s been out for less than two weeks, the album already has dug its claws into the cultural zeitgeist.
I predict the album will be a decade-defining classic that inspires other artists to branch into riskier subjects.
So grab your Y2K sunglasses and favorite lime green outfit and remember, it’s okay to enter your BRAT era.
Rate: 10/10
Contact Bonny Matejowsky at bmatejowsky@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @bonnymatejowsky
Bonny Matejowsky is a fourth-year journalism major and editor of The Avenue. When she’s not writing, you can find her delicately crafting a Pinterest board or at a local thrift store.
