Nathaniel Clark

Contributing Writer

nuc5002@psu.edu 

On March 18th, English singer-songwriter Charli XCX released their fifth studio album CRASH through Asylum Records. This is the singer’s first album since how i’m feeling now which was produced in six weeks during the COVID lockdown. Based on interviews and reports, this will be Charli’s last album with Asylum Records supposedly becoming independent after this release. Featuring on this album are previous collaborators Caroline Palochek and Christine & The Queens along with Rina Sawayama. The project was produced by Charli mainstays A. G. Cook, Alex Rechtshaid, and a cornucopia of others. 

Before I get into discussing CRASH, I believe it may be important to discuss how Charli XCX’s career has changed since 2014. Following her second studio album Sucker and its hit single “Boom Clap,” the singer ended up meeting producers A. G. Cook and Sophie. At the time, both producers were well known as being collaborators of the experimental production group P.C. Music. This meeting would lead to the creation of the 2016’s Vroom Vroom EP with Sophie producing and then the A. G. Cook-produced mixtape Number 1 Angel in 2017. These projects would pave the way towards the rest of Charli’s discography with the singer releasing Pop 2 (my personal favorite) also in 2017 and her self-titled album in 2019. All of the projects listed above led to the genre created by P.C. Music, known as hyperpop, to grow and become as well known as it is today. 

With the knowledge of Charli’s importance in hyperpop, it’s now time to discuss the major difference between CRASH and the rest of the singer’s discography. While Charli’s prior works have been known for their experimental, hyperpop production, CRASH features a more conventional dance-pop sound. This choice is, ultimately, my biggest issue with the album. It is interesting to see Charli sing on production with elements of pop music of the ’80s and ’90s, the sound pales in comparison to her previous albums. Rather than going with a more experimental and interesting lane, hearing Charli sing over production aesthetics which can be found in almost all modern pop removes anything special found in those other releases. 

A great way to show this almost blandness is to show the differences between how Charli worked with Christine & The Queens on her self-titled compared to on CRASH. Found on Charli’s 2019 album is “Gone,” a fantastic duet between the two singers along with some peculiar production. The moment at the ending when the production drops and the vocals are given a mixture of glitchy distortion and vocoders is quite an amazing treat. Comparing this “New Shapes,” the song with Christine off CRASH, the production is very bland. While the beat is indeed catchy, it’s considerably less unique, making it feel lost in a sea of similar popular music production. 

This issue is prevalent throughout the whole project, but with Charli being the artist we are discussing, there are still some amazing songs. The title track fits directly into this category, giving the project an explosive opener with some quite great moments of subtlety. “Good Ones,” the album’s main single, has an excellent synth line that moves the track with excellent pace. The beat drop in the chorus is very rewarding as well. “Baby,” another of the project’s singles and one of my favorite tracks, uses a nice bass line in the chorus that blends nicely with Charli’s more direct vocals. 

“Lightning” is a very interesting song. Rather than going for the previously mentioned dance-pop, the track seems to aim for a sound similar to Charli’s first studio album True Romance. This illusion is assisted heavily with the return of Ariel Rechtshaid, producer of the

previously mentioned 2013 album, on the board. Similar to “Lightning,” “Every Rule” has a previous producer return, this time A. G. Cook. Hearing Charli back on his production with assistance from Daniel Lopatin is quite a high point of the project. 

To close off this review on a higher note, I wanted to once again mention that this is Charli’s last major-label album. In my mind, I believe that this project sounds like this because of the fact. In her major label exit, Charli has decided to show herself in the field of standard studio pop fare. While not as great as her previous releases, CRASH shows Charli in a different musical lane. This lane may not be something I believe she excels in, I also have a feeling that the singer-songwriters will soon return to her classic experimental sound. I can’t even imagine what the singer can cook up when major labels aren’t involved.