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2. “Brat” by Charli XCX
The “best” album of the year is always debatable, but one thing is for sure: “Brat” will go down in history as the main character in 2024’s cultural discourse.
The artwork’s acid green seeped into every corner of observable life, from statue gardens and brand campaigns to Times Square and the White House. Even NASA hopped on the trend, using “Brat” lyrics in an Instagram caption to describe the lingering glow of a supernova. “Buried at the center is the star’s tell-tale heart,” the agency wrote, “which beats with rhythmic precision.” How very fitting.
After many years of languishing in pop’s middle class (justice for “How I’m Feeling Now”), Charli XCX broke into the mainstream with her most idiosyncratic work to date. Ironically, it was her previous effort, 2022’s “Crash,” that was created with the intention of showing off her pop-star chops — both as a cynical stunt and an earnest bid for attention.
At the time, the experiment seemed to fail. “Crash” was well received by critics but failed to lift Charli into pop’s upper echelon.
And yet, it was precisely this kind of failure — or, at least, the perception of failure in the competitive world of “stan Twitter” — that made the existence of “Brat” possible. Throughout the tracklist, Charli is haunted by her own legacy. She frets constantly about being compared to other women in the industry. Do they even notice when she’s fixing her hair or snagging her tights? Do they see her standing in the background? Do they also wish they could rewind to simpler times, before they cared about Billboard charts and sales numbers? She even wonders whether her music career is worth putting her personal life on hold for.
Even when Charli is playing her familiar role, the “365 party girl,” her brags are still legacy-oriented. “I’m your favorite reference, baby,” she insists in the opening track, “360.” In the standout single “Von Dutch,” she teases, “It’s OK to just admit that you’re jealous of me.” Put in conversation with the album’s deep cuts, these lyrics seem more defensive than they do at first brush. Charli is ready to call herself an icon, but she wants you to say it back.
“Brat” is a uniquely Charli album, but as NASA accidentally noted, it’s also a tale as old as time: Buried at the center, beneath the neon lights and pulsing synths, Charli’s tell-tale heart is beating, keeping her alive, begging to be heard.
Best songs: “Sympathy Is a Knife,” “Von Dutch,” “So I,” “Girl, So Confusing,” “365”
