Charli XCX- Music, Fashion, Film (review)

Published by Mason Oldridge, 24 July 2026

Following the commercially successful predecessor that spawned the Brat summer phenomenon, Charli departs from its techno-heavy sound and leans into rock music on this widely anticipated follow-up.

Despite the assumptions born out of opening track and lead single Rock Music, this new record isn’t actually rock music, though guitars do feature much more prominently. However, as with Brat, the production feels messy and chaotic, resulting in an unfinished sound that feels more like a demo or something produced from a spontaneous jam session. Furthermore, there is not much variation between tracks and, with most adopting a short runtime and uncreative lyrics, it seems lazy. Despite this, the distortion is an electrifying pleasure to the ears and no song is necessarily bad to listen to.

The artwork has been a large talking point as it is a greyscale star-studded photograph of singer John Cale, fashion designer Marc Jacobs and filmmaker Martin Scorsese, representing each element of the album title.

Charli is no longer guessing the colour of underwear but jumping on a trampoline with no underwear on, continuing to demonstrate risqué sexuality as part of her appeal. This is further promoted on single Wink Wink, which is arguably the most cohesive offering of the album.

Once again, Charli demonstrates huge potential, just falling short of something incredible.

5/10