“Charli” is Charli XCX’s first album since 2014. (Photo courtesy of Atlantic Records)

Troy Lafond
Connector Editor

Charli XCX rose to fame in 2014 with her feature on Iggy Azalea’s massive hit “Fancy” and her own hit for “The Fault in Our Stars” soundtrack, “Boom Clap.” To most people, she remained a one hit wonder from thereon, and faded into obscurity. For those who paid slightly closer attention, she has since scored major songwriting hits, in her work for “Same Old Love” by Selena Gomez and “Seniorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. This sort of listing of her hits makes her seem like a pretty generic, cookie cutter pop star. However, her solo work then has been perhaps the strangest and most experimental of any hitmaker recently.

In 2016, Charli released her EP “Vroom Vroom,” produced by Scottish producer Sophie. Sophie is known for a futuristic, mechanical production style that is a bit hard to fully explain without hearing it. At its weirdest, it sounds like pots and pans clashing together. It sounds off-putting, and to many it will be, but it is truly experimental and innovative in a way that pop music has been missing. While Sophie’s contributions as a producer to Charli pretty much ends here besides some unreleased music, two tracks on Charli’s first 2017 mixtape “Number 1 Angel,” and one track on her second 2017 mixtape “Pop 2,” her influence is dripping all over Charli XCX’s latest album “Charli”. This is likely due to major contributions from Sophie’s previous collaborator AG Cook, who has been named Charli XCX’s “Creative Director” and is the executive producer of “Charli.”

“Charli” is a perfect follow up to this duo of 2017 mixtapes, while at the same time being a bit more welcoming to newcomers to her music. This commercial accessibility is best shown on the album’s second single: “Blame It On Your Love” with Lizzo. “Blame It On Your Love” originated on Charli XCX’s “Pop 2” as the final track: “Track 10.” What she first released as a five-and-a-half-minute epic closer with glitched out vocals and production was rereleased as a 3-minute upbeat pop single with a trendy rap feature and a drop in the chorus. On the surface, this seems almost like a blatant sellout for Charli: what started something experimental eventually turned trend chasing. However, the song itself retains its strongest quality in its killer chorus, and “Charli” finds true experimentation elsewhere.

The central theme of “Charli” is a greater sense of introspection than ever existed in her past music, and where the album truly shines is when this theme merges with Charli’s more typical electropop stylings. Prerelease single “Gone” is perhaps the best example of such, it retains Charli XCX’s brand weirdness in the constructs of a straightforward pop song, but with a much more vulnerable core. Collaborator Christine and the Queens also plays extremely well off Charli XCX’s strengths here, making it one of the most compelling listens on the album. Other tracks such as “Cross You Out” with Sky Ferreira, “1999” with Troye Sivan, “White Mercedes” and “Silver Cross” also follow similar paths of being notably Charli’s style, but in a way we have not quite seen from her lyrically before.

However, for the true weirdest moments on the album, look no further than “Shake It.” Featuring an entourage of guest singers in Big Freedia, cupcakKe, Brooke Candy, and Pabllo Vittar, “Shake It” is perhaps the most unique track Charli XCX has ever released. It is stylistically reminiscent of her 2017 “Pop 2” cut “I Got It,” which also featured Brooke Candy, cupcakKe and Pabllo Vittar. While “Shake It” initially may seem like an attempt to catch lightning in a bottle again, “Shake It” truly shines in every single second. It is lyrically asinine like the strangest of Charli XCX songs, with the only words that Charli herself sings in the song being “I shake it ooh” and “I shake it all on you” repeated ad nauseum. However, the fascinating production choices across the song elevate it to a new level that may perhaps not work without the repetition. Most interesting in this regard is a moment in the intro of the song where Charli’s voice is manipulated to sound like bubbling water. It is just incredible experimentation. Unique raps, sizzling ad libs, a Spanish verse, screams, and much more follow in what becomes a truly one of a kind experience. Similar in sonic styling is album closer “2099” with Troye Sivan, which feels almost more like an entire auditory experience than just a song. While nothing there is quite as blatantly weird, it is still a rich sonic landscape to be explored.

While “Charli” most certainly is not an album for anyone, those who have been wanting a bit more innovation in their pop music might just find something to love in “Charli.” It is thematically and stylistically consistent throughout, has some real peaks and no real defining low points, and is overall easily Charli XCX’s best work to date, and one of the best albums of 2019.

Overall grade: A+