Charli xcx has once again returned to save the summer. Her seventh studio album Music, Fashion, Film has finally arrived and it’s brought a whole new side of Charli with it.
With BRAT, Charli painted us a lime green portrait of pop stardom. Music, Fashion, Film seeks to uncover the significance of such a massive pop culture touchstone. In her Rolling Stone cover story, Charli said “All of my albums work in opposites. They repel against each other, and that’s the connective tissue. I knew when I was making it that I was never going to make that record again. It’s not creatively rewarding for me to make the same thing twice.” If BRAT was the dizzying confusion of life in the public eye, Music, Fashion, Film is a look into what happens behind the scenes. It is the why behind the moment. The album manages to be tender and vulnerable without compromising Charli’s signature dry wit.
At its core, the record is about identity and allowing yourself the freedom to try new things in the name of self discovery. It begins with “Rock Music,” the projects lead single where Charli notes the discomfort of feeling truly alive. She compares it to jumping off a stage saying “I hope they catch you today but if they don’t, it’s okay.” Women in pop are forced into a never ending cycle of rebranding but can only ever push the boundaries so far without losing public favor. It’s as though Charli is surrendering that need for public opinion. It leads directly into “SS26,” a song which as a single felt like a shallow instance of social commentary becomes integral to building the emotional landscape of the rest of the album. It showcases the commodified landscape that Charli creates in. Everything has been commodified and it feels like “walking on a runway that goes straight to hell.”
A few of the stand out tracks from the record would have to be “Camera,” “I’m Afraid” and “Persona.” On “Camera” Charli laments about the freedom she feels to be messy and unpolished since venturing into acting. “Camera” is the opposite of “SS26,” it’s the euphoria of being seen rather than the scrutiny that comes from it. “I’m afraid” and “Persona” see Charli at war with the image she has created for herself over the last several years and the ways it contradicts how she views herself and her career.
The album ends with “No One Lasts Forever” a track featuring director David Cronenberg. The track loops back to that line in “Rock Music,” as Charli makes peace with the fact that not even the greatest pieces of art will last forever. A piece of art, whether it be a work of music, fashion, or film does not have an inherent meaning to it. Humans assign meaning to things by interacting with them, when people die so to does the specific meaning that they have created. One of the last lines in the Cronenberg interlude is “Oblivion is Freedom,” which could be the thesis statement of the entire album. In acknowledging oblivion and how fleeting the world around you is, it’s a reminder to push boundaries and not cave into public perception. Happiness is not something that will last forever, but pain and discomfort won’t either.
Music, Fashion, Film is available everywhere now.
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