One of my favorite albums of the entire year has been the queen Charli XCX’s Brat. I have never seen an album that has kick started a cultural phenomenon in such little time. It isn’t just the “brat summer” of it all, however. It’s a flawless album from start to finish, with bangers that range from dancing around the room to crying in the club. The honesty, vulnerability, and bluntness that Charli incorporates into the album is unlike anything the 2024 music scene had seen up to that point. This ended up becoming one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year, with sources such as Pitchfork saying that Brat “arrives as the best-sounding version of the Charli XCX promise to make the Apollonian pop landscape Dionysian again.” It made its mark, and Charli seemed like she knew that this was her crown jewel. This was going to be her album that stands the test of time, and here is why.
- The Resurgence and Demand of Hyperpop
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I vividly remember when Charli released one of the boldest EPs I had heard in a very long time, that being Vroom Vroom. It was such a drastic change in sound, image, and everything that we had come to see from Charli between 2014-2015. She began to take on the hyperpop sound, with the help of producers such as A.G. Cook and the late Sophie. From this to her self-titled album, Crash, and now Brat, she has made the hyperpop and club genres hers. In her GQ interview, she explicitly states that this album is a “club album,” being more direct and blunt with her music and refusing to appeal to the public. She refused to keep herself in a box and broadened her scope to make herself a powerhouse to be reckoned with. She said, “This summer will be my summer”, and made her sound instantly recognizable. Just this summer alone, artists such as Camila Cabello, Kim Petras, and Slayyyter put their own twists on the sound, and she was perfecting the sound even before many of their respective attempts were released. Even international artists such as K-pop group Aespa have used the hyperpop sound in a lot of their discography. It is seeing a renaissance, and Charli is at the reins.
Maria Bustinza - Charli’s Bratty Victory Lap
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After Brat released, I feel like Charli decided to take the ultimate victory lap with the album, beginning with her highly anticipated SWEAT tour with Troye Sivan (which was the best thing to happen ever). The tour felt like a night out, with flashing lights, some of the best fits I have seen on a tour, and, of course, all the bangers from both her and Troye’s album Something to Give Each Other (also phenomenal). It was instantly iconic, with her showing she is not only a queen in the recording booth, but a queen on the stage. Her charisma was unmatched, and she showed everyone what she was truly capable of. Then she dropped the bombshell: the remix album Brat and it’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat. You have never heard any album like that remix album. This was her biggest victory lap, celebrating what an amazing era this album was by making all the songs, as the title says, completely different and adding something so fresh to each of them. This makes the lasting power of this album unbelievable, and I truly feel that because of this, this album is a classic.
Cali Camp - The Music is Just Too Good
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That really is the reason I decided to write this article. No one else is making music at the level or caliber of Charli right now. Brat especially showed me just how outstanding she is as an artist, from the party and club vibes of the album to the disturbingly relatable lyrics. There are two songs that I believe represent Brat and its longevity. The first is “Girl, so confusing,” including the version with Lorde. This was the first song that I heard that tackled the struggle of female friendships and the mindset behind it, and she did it over one of the best produced beats on the album. The version with Lorde is just a perfect remix; Lorde adds so much context and depth to the theme of the song with her voice, and I missed Lorde singing on a song. It’s a song any woman listening can instantly relate to, and it made me connect to Charli and the album so much when I first heard it. The second song for me is “Guess,” specifically the remix with Billie Eilish. This is just such a fun song, and for me it screams Brat in every single way. It may not be as deep or as thoughtful as something like “Girl, so confusing,” but it has all the vibes that make Brat so enjoyable.
For me, Brat is my personal album of the year, and I highly recommend for everyone to blast it as loud as they possibly can, whether it is the original or the remix. The longevity is going to be insane, and I know 20 years later I will still be in my 365 party girl era like I am now.