No one had their finger on the summer 2024 pop culture pulse like Charli XCX. Following the staggering success of “Brat,” her sixth studio album, Charli was cemented as a pop icon and settled into her role as the summer’s definitive “it girl.”
“I’m your favorite reference, baby,” she announced on “360,” one of the viral hits on “Brat.” And she was right. Charli was everywhere and Brat Summer was absolutely inescapable.
That is, until it ended.
Charli posted “goodbye forever brat summer” on X on Sept. 2, officially marking the end of an era. “Brat,” in all of its lime green glory, was a ghost of pop music past.
Or so we all thought.
A little more than a week after Brat Summer was laid to rest, Charli announced a new album, cheekily titled “Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat.” Leading up to its Oct. 11 release date, she teased collaborations with various artists from Ariana Grande to Bon Iver on “Brat”-ified billboards that loomed over freeways and bus stops. The “Brat” remix album was coming — but could it possibly live up to the hype?
Remixes are admittedly tough to get right. They typically feel very cut-and-paste, hastily tacking on a new verse or shoehorning in a random feature in their attempts to prolong a song’s short-lived success. At their worst, they’re cheap imitations of a popular track with mismatched production choices and unnecessary add-ons — recall Ice Spice’s awkward ad-libs on Taylor Swift’s 2023 “Karma” remix.
But to the delight of Charli’s fans, “Still Brat” is different. It’s more than an evolution of “Brat,” it’s a mutation. The project is grittier and more subversive than its predecessor and definitely much weirder. It’s messy, but not sloppy. Spontaneous, but not rushed. And in this writer’s opinion, it’s Charli’s most exciting project yet.
Each and every remix on “Still Brat” is a fresh and unique take on the original versions, but there are several standouts. Among them is “Sympathy is a knife,” featuring pop princess Ariana Grande. While the original track’s focus is on Charli’s abashed envy for a more popular female pop star, the remix covers much more ground. Throughout, Charli and Grande vilify everything from misquoting journalists to toxic beauty standards, accompanied by stinging production. It stands out for its cutting lyrics, for example, Grande purrs, “It’s a knife when somebody says they like the old me and not the new me / And I’m like, who the f*ck is she?”
“Talk talk” featuring Troye Sivan is just as memorable. It’s a pulsating, provocative house-inspired track that glistens with sweat and practically begs to be played on the dance floor. Likewise, A.G. Cook’s remix of “Von dutch,” which features Addison Rae, is already a certified club classic (pun intended). Delightfully smug and hilariously witty, the duet is a campy ode to “living that life,” punctuated at its raucous climax by Rae’s iconic high-pitched scream.
One of the viral hits on “Brat” was “Apple,” a palatable, bite-size piece of pop that bubbles over with buzzing synths and a ping-ponging beat. Charli must’ve known it was already pop perfection, because its remix featuring The Japanese House doesn’t fall too far from the tree. It flaunts the same frothy, energetic production, but differs from the original in that it feels sadder and more reflective. Amber Mary Bain, known professionally as indie pop act The Japanese House, brings new lyrics to the table that cut even deeper than those on the original “I ignore you when I see you calling ‘cause I / Know it’s something I might regret.”
After the lyrical heaviness of “Apple,” “B2b” featuring Tinashe offers something much easier to swallow — a shameless, shallow pop anthem. More playful and lighthearted than its standard “Brat” counterpart, which wouldn’t have been out of place in a heart-pounding chase scene of a thriller flick, “B2b” is an unabashedly boastful pop track I’ve been playing back to back to back to back.
As listeners approach the homestretch of “Still Brat,” they’re met with my personal favorite new song, “I think about it all the time” with Bon Iver. Like the original, Charli laments her difficulties maintaining a balance between her work and personal life and on top of that, her internal debate about having a child at the peak of her career. The original track is minimalistic and subdued and its thin, stripped-down production concentrates listeners’ focus on Charli’s confessional lyrics. It’s a brief moment of anxious introspection that clings to the bottom of the tracklist, all too easy to overlook.
But the remix fills out the gaps left by its skeletal predecessor with the help of indie folk band Bon Iver. Smooth and robust, it ebbs and flows and ultimately swells up into a rich, ambient soundscape at its conclusion. Justin Vernon, Bon Iver’s lead vocalist, contributes chilling harmonies that float above a sea of swooping strings and pounding drums. Charli’s vulnerability, coupled with unique new production choices and a perfect Bon Iver feature, makes this remix without a doubt the most impactful piece of music I’ve heard this year.
After listeners are pacified by “I think about it all the time,” they’re shocked awake by 365 volts of electricity on the remix of “365,” featuring English DJ and singer Shygirl. It’s the kind of song you feel rattling around in your stomach, metallic and distorted and even more unhinged than the original. Charli and Shygirl’s chemistry is palpable and together they provide a burst of adrenaline to propel listeners to the album’s finish line.
“Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat” isn’t just a remix album. It’s a fabulous anomaly and a testament to Charli XCX’s unmatched musical prowess. Charli might have found her mainstream success this summer, but “Still Brat” suggests she is far from ready to conform. In fact, she’s only getting weirder, and I, for one, am glad for it.
