Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat
Two weeks ago, billboards appeared in Charli XCX’s trademark green hue. Backwards, blurred typography teasingly suggested names of the artists featuring on her electropop remix album, Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat.
Released on 11 October, Brat 2.0 has already propelled the Essex born singer into a new wave of fame. It comes hot on the heels of her sixth album release which culminated in the embrace of the trashy party-girl mindset.
Her remix album is not an attempt to continue the chaos of a gritty, hedonistic summer. It’s to consider the dangers of living in the public eye with an undercurrent of self-reflection and slight existential dread.
Perhaps the most widely anticipated feature on the album was Sympathy is a Knife with pop princess Ariana Grande. It has certainly lived up to its expectations.
The distorted, synth driven melody examines life in the limelight. It shifts the tone from the original track to the more cutting and realistic scrutiny of female musicians in the sphere of fame.
The added verses were influenced by “interviews throughout the campaign where Charli felt a little manipulated” and saw the “agendas at play” within the industry.
Ariana outlines ideas of body dysmorphia and an invasive press.
“It’s a knife when they dissect your body on the front page, it’s a knife when they won’t believe you. Why should you explain?”
US actor and co-host of the Red Scare podcast, Dasha Nekrasova, has revealed that track Mean Girls is about her. She took to social media saying, “Charli sent it to me a couple of months ago and told me about it.”
Nekrasova, a self-proclaimed Zionist, was recently photographed shooting a gun at a target dummy dressed in traditional Palestinian clothing.
On the remix, Charli reflects on the ignorance in “stan culture”, as fans learn to follow an idol despite controversy and problematic actions.
The new album stands as a monument to those Charli has lost and found along the trajectory of her career.
So I featuring AG Cook is a tribute to XCX’s late friend and music producer/songwriter Sophie.
Newcomer Catalonian rapper Bb Trickz stars on Club Classics, adding her flair to the certified mosh pit banger.
Billie Eilish’s feature on Guess enabled the donation of 10,000 pairs of underwear from the music video to US-based charity Support the Girls.
The charity works internationally to distribute underwear and period products to women experiencing domestic violence, homelessness and hardship.
This album isn’t just a remix—it is a total change in mindset for XCX. The tracks stand in a league of their own with added depth and security.
The cultural phenomenon of “Brat summer” certainly isn’t over yet. Ariana’s feature is trying to secure number one in the singles charts this week and we ask—will Charli be “finally on top?”
