Charli XCX is about to release her new studio album. If we exclude the Wuthering Heights soundtrack, the rocker “Music, Fashion, Film” would be the successor to “brat.” Judging by the singles we’ve heard so far, this LP marks a total about-face in Charli’s trajectory: we’re no longer on the dance floor.
The British artist has chosen to add another layer to her rollout by quietly releasing three extra tracks to accompany “Rock Music,” “SS26,” and “Camera.” “Wink Wink,” however, arrived solo. The reasoning behind the pairings, according to Charli herself, is that the songs “are completely opposite of each other, to find the main idea of both.”
Each track arrived with its own video, and there is still no confirmation that they will be released on platforms. For now, the songs are exclusive to Charli’s secondary Instagram account (currently private) and to the 7-inch vinyls. However, she herself gave permission to “pirate the audio” after the first preview. In this link you can download the three.
“I Keep Thinking Bout You Every Single Day and Night,” “Playboy Bunny” and “If You Take Away The Music Then What Has She Got?” are not mere leftovers. Charli explains that, although they aren’t on the final album, this “wouldn’t have become what it is without them,” she says in her latest post. In that post she also promises that she is “thinking of finding a way for you to have them.” The sooner, the better.
‘I Keep Thinking Bout You Every Single Day and Night’
The other side of “Rock Music,” the single that kicked off this whole new era, is romantic and ironic. Charli replaces the chaos and the glitchy guitars of the lead track with a ballad built entirely from organs, with no hint of percussion, clearly complementing the sonic layer.
The lyrics, on the other hand, stay within the cynical universe of “Rock Music,” with the Brit wondering if she could “be gay” (“Come on, look at me, I’m probably not”) or if she simply wants her soulmate as her “best friend.” Charli, as sharp as ever: “I’ve always wondered if you were really gay / Or if it was something you said for the sake of your career.”
‘Playboy Bunny’
The official hit on the B-sides. You only need to look at the YouTube view counts to see the difference. Charli had already hinted in the track’s post that it acts “like a mirror” of “SS26”: “There are specific sonic elements that are totally opposite, and I think that’s what makes it a great companion,” she explained.
The song’s main influence is punk, and this is visible both in the music—likely the most openly rock-driven track of this era—and in the lyrics, straightforward yet also critical of the industry: “Write a song with one word / Write a song like a slogan / Write a song and print it on a T-shirt.” It also drops lines as hilariously blunt as this: “All my music sounds the same / Well, that’s because I made it.”
‘If You Take Away The Music Then What Has She Got?’
The final B-side is the most experimental. Charli XCX has never sounded more Avril Lavigne, that’s for sure. On the other hand, she has never blurred the line between rock and electronic as much. Paradoxically, she achieves it by clearly differentiating the two halves: “Take Away The Music” is essentially an EDM song, with its drop and its chops, but built with the instruments a band would use in their rehearsal space.
The lyrics, which are basically the title, nod to the public perception that musicians often face, but also read as the question Charli might have asked herself before writing “Camera.” The question she poses is answered with the album’s title.
