2024 has been dubbed the year of “brat,” and rightfully so, as Charli XCX’s sixth studio album has taken over our minds, radios and politics. Since its release on June 7, the album has amassed over 1.5 billion streams on Spotify and received critical acclaim, currently standing as Metacritic’s most critically acclaimed album of the year. Songs from the album sparked cultural movements, with fans worldwide displaying their “brat” apparel and doing viral “brat” TikTok dances.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris also adopted many of the album’s funky and distinct aesthetics to fuel her campaign for the White House. Her online platform, KamalaHQ, took inspiration from “brat’s” minimalist cover art to create its profile picture on its many social platforms after Charli XCX’s now-famous post that “Kamala IS brat.”
After the success of “brat,” it would be reasonable for Charli XCX to take a break from music, relax and bask in her success. So, why would she return to the studio to re-release “brat?” The answer lies in her ambition and dedication to music. In an Instagram caption, Charli explained, “I've always had a bit of an issue with songs coming out and being cemented as one thing for eternity…. I think songs are endless and have the possibility to be continuously broken down, reworked, changed, morphed, mutilated into something completely unrecognizable. that’s what I was wanting to do with this record…”
Charli’s quote perfectly summarizes the mindset with which one has to approach “Brat and it's completely different but also still brat.” The remix album, which came out Oct. 11, is a complete revamp of the original “brat.” It requires the listener to divorce the two albums and evaluate the remix as a standalone piece, not as an offshoot of the original album. If you're expecting the same feeling you received when you first listened to "brat,” you won't get it.
What distinguished "brat" was its party girl, rave-adjacent energy. The remix album is a deflated version of "brat," with only a few tracks retaining the party energy from the original. However, this doesn’t mean that the remix album is a letdown or disappointment — the albums are simply trying to accomplish different goals.
This project's production is the star of the show. It captures listeners' attention in a way that is almost more unique and unexpected than the original. Down to the hooks of each song, the production takes precedence over melodic patterns in carrying the music.
The structure of the tracks we liked differed from what you'd expect from a generic pop album. Track #2, "Club classics featuring Bb trickz," begins with an unconventional and unexpected distortion but is followed by a polished yet intense production. “365 featuring shygirl” is another song that follows this pattern of disruptive excellence; it is a wild experience but an undeniable hit. "Everything is Romantic featuring caroline polachek" takes a completely different production approach than its previous version. The song's production style becomes much slower and more Jersey Club-like. Caroline Polachek, the featured artist, blends seamlessly into the track's overall sound, with her vocals adding a haunting yet alluring layer.
Outside of the pre-released hits of this remix album like “Girl, so confusing remix featuring lorde” and “Guess featuring billie eilish,” there are other standout tracks that deserve a listen.
“Mean girls featuring Julian Casablancas” is a perfect example of a featured artist having a prominent and well-thought-out contribution to a song. Casablancas is well-known as the lead singer of The Strokes and frontman for The Voidz, and the influence of The Voidz is undoubtedly present in this song.
The Voidz are best characterized as an experimental version of The Strokes. They elevate rock music by combining it with cyberpunk, experimental and electronic influences. Hence, Casablancas’ addition to “brat,” an electronic album, is tasteful and achieves Charli’s goal of wanting to rework and advance the album. Casablancas truly channels The Voidz in “Mean girls” while still retaining the original catchiness of the song. While we appreciate the original “Mean girls,” we anticipate that we'll be listening to the remix more often.
“Sympathy is a knife featuring ariana grande” is another example of how this album nicely integrates a featured artist into the song. We were interested in seeing what Ariana Grande could do on hyper-pop records, especially with the notably softer R&B/pop sound she presents on her records.
Lyrically, the song addresses the struggles of success and of facing constraints from adversaries. Both Charli XCX and Ariana describe the trouble they faced on their podium of stardom. The song takes on a stronger synth-heavy production that drones throughout the verses and is developed further in the chorus. The song hits its peak when the bridge beat switches, bringing in laser-like, droning sounds that feel both anthemic and abrasive. Charli ends with “All this expectation is a knife” which is supported by Grande’s smooth vocal ad-libs. The collaboration between the two was incredibly smooth and cohesive.
The songs that don’t impress were characterized by poor production. They felt uninteresting, even skippable at times, and the peaks of the song simply were not peaks. Some parts also seemed choppy, as if they were rushed in the studio. If they had been more dynamic or well-thought-out, they would have definitely hit the mark. The ones on the remix album we would categorize as weaker are: “360 featuring robyn & yung lean,” “So I featuring a.g. cook,” “I might say something stupid featuring the 1975 & jon hopkins,” “I think about it all the time featuring bon iver” and “Apple featuring the japanese house.”
“360 featuring robyn & yung lean” and “So I featuring a.g. cook” fell flat and maintained a disjointed rhythm. For instance, it seemed as if “360 featuring robyn & yung lean” had the same beat as the original “360” but the lyrics had been replaced with ones that were unpolished. The latter songs were not dynamic and didn’t leave a salient impression.
Even though the remix album and the original “brat” album are trying to achieve different goals, there are definitely weaker songs on the remix album. So, one can argue that Charli whipped up a remix album as “brat” summer started cooling off as a way to sustain revenue from streams and sales of the “brat” brand. If this is true, Charli was definitely successful. The album re-peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 with 105,000 units sold and peaked at #1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.
With its highs and lows, some aspects of “Brat and it's completely different but also still brat” are certain; it is experimental, daring and unpredictable. The sheer decision for Charli to follow her success with a re-release is bold and shows the artist’s willingness to be creative and push the boundaries of music. We can’t wait to see what Charli XCX makes next, and we anticipate more innovative hits.
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