Crash

Charli XCX

With her previous two albums (Charli and How I'm Feeling Now), Charli XCX quickly became one of my favourite pop artists. She displayed a fearlessness working with forward-thinking producers that created a bubbly, noisy, and futuristic sound that, while gaining in popularity, was still not taken all that seriously in the mainstream pop world. Nevertheless, Charli and this hyperpop sound just felt like a perfect match. The exaggerated bass, distortion, and aggressively tuned vocals, in my opinion, complimented Charli's very direct, stream of consciousness lyrics that are at times super playful, and others candidly honest. Needless to say, I was so looking forward to what was next for her. That is, until I heard the first single to drop, Good Ones, another 80s dance throwback that was so bland, I had no recollection of listening to it previously when I finally dove into the whole record. This track is sadly no outlier, as many tracks on here tap into the current wave of 80s revivalism, and sadly doesn't put in enough effort to put a new spin or personal stamp on these classic sounds. It feels like a true regression.

Crash kicks off this album with a new jack swing flair. The tuned vocals I guess is an update to this sound, but the vocal melody is stiff and the choppy, staccato delivery is kind of annoying. Baby is a seductive piece of Prince-inspired funk that unfortunately has one of the most mind-numbing hooks I've ever heard Charli craft. On top of that, the hook is repeated into oblivion making it a truly painful track. Although, it is somehow still not as painful as Used to Know Me, who's derivative eurodance direction can't even hold a candle to the numerous forgettable tracks that appeared on any Much Dance compilation (or any equivalent if you are outside of Canada) in the 90s.

On the lyrical front, Charli is just as honest as ever, but almost to a fault. The combo of Every Rule and Yuck certainly raises eyebrows. The former tells the story of Charli and another person, both in committed relationships, sneaking away to build a romance behind their respective partners' backs. The latter, clowns on sappy gestures and clingy behaviour from potential suitors. Despite a hint of self-awareness, acknowledging how she is betraying her partner as well as being a hypocrite in regards to sentimentality in the beginning stages of a relationship, these two songs together still reveal an unflattering callousness in her character that rubs me the wrong way. She knows she's doing harm, being unreasonable, or not effectively communicating what she wants out of a relationship, and yet she is continuing the behaviour.

That's a lot of negative criticism, but this record does have its moments. I liked the track Move Me a little bit with its moody, cavernous instrumental. I also thought it was pretty creative the way all the instrumentation and effects on Charli's voice drop away for a particularly intimate moment and then all drop in again in the middle of a bar unexpectedly. The only gripe I have with this track is that it doesn't really have a satisfying conclusion; the ending feels very abrupt. My two favourite tracks, however, are easily New Shapes and Beg For You, which is a coincidence considering that they are the only two songs to have guest vocal features. All parties bring strong vocal performances, the hooks are legitimately catchy, and also features the strongest production of all the tracks here.

It's hard for me not to feel extremely disappointed after listening to this record. After such an incredible run of mixtapes, EPs, and albums where Charli seemed to find what really works for her, it is shocking to hear her not only jump on this 80s trend that everyone seems to be doing, but also doing it with absolutely zero flavour or originality. A part of me hopes that this was just a one off-thing, changing things up just to try something different, but with how drastic this shift was, I feel like this is Charli's way of bringing that hyperpop era to a close.