Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ remix is a completely new return to form
Four months after releasing her sixth studio album “Brat” and changing the trajectory of Kamala Harris’ campaign, Charli XCX is back with new music. With several guest appearances from musicians who make cameos in the Charli XCX universe, the remixed album, “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat,” is a return to form.
No matter what the featured artists add or subtract from each song, the record succeeds through the innovative use of samples and interpolations that give nuance to the themes on the original record.
The selection of featured artists on each song is particularly ingenious. While the original versions of songs were monologues, the thematic content takes on new resonance when presented as dialogues.
On the opening track, “360” Swedish stars Robyn and Yung Lean join Britain-born Charli for a boast session to a cadence reminiscent of Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” featuring Timbaland. Maybe the reference is intentional — with lyrics like “Three child stars out here doing damage / Me and Lean and Robyn, we don’t even have to practice / We got many hits, get you feeling nostalgic,” the hitmakers have the bonafides to back up their confidence. The remix version maintains the swagger of the original but amplifies the playfulness. If the original version is a song to play while getting ready for a fun night out, then the “360” remix is what you play to pregame with friends.
“360” transitions into “Club classics,” where Spanish rapper Bb trickz delivers a verse that transports the listener straight to Ibiza. Bb trickz’s delivery has a percussive quality that creates a polyrhythmic beat. While the original version is easier to dance to, the remix flexes Charli’s technical virtuosity through the use of tempo changes, pitching down the background vocals and sampling samples. The previous version of “Club classics” samples a snippet from an old Charli XCX interview, while the remix contains this sample and interpolates the melody from “365,” the last song on the original album. It also has an echolalic effect as Charli warbles about wanting to dance with herself to herself. For those who lamented the end of brat summer, the message is clear: You can link up with friends and find a party everywhere, every day.
The original success of “Brat” makes “Brat and and it’s completely different but also still brat” a sonic space to discuss the highs and lows of a career resurgence. Caroline Polachek is a frequent Charli XCX collaborator and her presence on the “Everything is romantic” remix makes the song an album standout. The song is structured as a late-night phone call where Charli calls to seek reassurance about her ability to enjoy her success. Polachek replies with melismatic background vocals and delivers the refrain, “Fall in love / again and again” as an affirmation and a command. Seemingly getting what you desire can make you long for a time where you yearned for it.
On “B2b,” XCX links up with Tinashe whose song “Nasty” became a viral hit this past summer. Another song where two talented songstresses link up to tell each other, “Exactly!”
Part of the reason artists make art is to share painful feelings and lessen their impact. This catharsis is exemplified on the Lorde version of “Girl, so confusing” where a song that was originally about insecurity and rivalry became an elegy about body image and the difficulty of connecting with others when struggling with self-acceptance.
“Apple” is a devastating banger about visiting your parents and immediately wanting to leave because you notice they are bizarre (and so are you because they raised you). The Japanese House version cribs from Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” — what would life be like if you had the kind of parental support that was willing to pick you up as you stumble through life?
On the remix of “I think about it all the time,” a track where Charli meditates on the possibility of becoming a mother, she samples Bonnie Raitt via Bon Iver’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me/Nick of Time,” a nod to how difficult it can be to step away from the spotlight to focus on family life, especially once you get long-awaited accolades.
Collaborators can make or break the strength of a track and there are a few times where featured artists don’t hit their marks. For example, Addison Rae’s inclusion on “Von dutch” is underwhelming, insofar as the TikTok star turned pop singer doesn’t have the vocal chops nor back catalog to lambast those who critiqued her debut. Ariana Grande is one of the most gifted contemporary pop vocalists, but her contribution to the frenetic and kitschy “Sympathy is a knife” is too understated to count for much.
“I might say something stupid” featuring The 1975 and British electronic musician and producer Jon Hopkins is a song where the reworked version isn’t an improvement on the original. The track clocks in at over four minutes and is a downtempo song on an otherwise upbeat record. The slower change of pace on the remix is not unwelcome, but the build-up isn’t quite worth the final minute, which is the most melodically interesting part of the song.
If there is one song where neither the featured artist nor the instrumentation quite works, it’s “Mean girls” featuring Julian Casablancas. I was excited that Casablancas decided to dust off his vocoder but the song may have been better served by his vocals being lower in the mix. The melody sounds like “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes. The band is not credited in the album notes, but the homage on “Mean girls” is suggestive that a better version of the song is hidden in the version that made the final album cut. The brat ethos is about being chaotic, messy, but still down to party — this mishmash ditty still embodies this spirit perfectly even if it doesn’t quite work as a coherent song
It is entirely possible that Charli XCX isn’t aiming for coherence. “Brat” may be the better album, but “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” is the more compelling album. In an era where risk-averse record labels don’t invest in remixes, the choice to release an entire record of reworked songs demonstrates Charli’s commitment to showing new and longtime fans what pop music can do. The original record tapped into the zeitgeist but reviving remixes could be a climate change.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
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