No thread on her yet. Her two singles released this year ('stay away', 'nuclear seasons') got the 'best new track' feature on Pitchfork and TheSinglesJukebox rated the later with a 7.83 which is quite a high score by their standards. Also it seems she's been getting the love by british press for a few years now, but I can't confirm that firsthand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBxC5bRbruQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1GNx2bwZa4
― Moka, Sunday, 13 November 2011 00:24 (eleven years ago) link
Is she named after a Star Trek episode?
― Miss Piggy and Frodo in Hull (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 13 November 2011 00:49 (eleven years ago) link
From interview magazine http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/brit-pop-girls#_ :
CHARLI XCXFULL NAME: Charlotte Aitchison. “The XCX really stands for ‘kiss Charli kiss’ which is unbelievably crap.”AGE: 17.PROVENANCE: Hertfordshire.SOUND: Pouty raps, fuzzy basslines.INTERVIEW: How long have you been making music?CHARLI XCX: I started writing my own things when I was about 8. I used to try to bully my friends into imitating the Spice Girls on the playground. Then I realized, Oh god, my career’s going nowhere, so I looked in the Yellow Pages and phoned up the first cheap studio that I found and started recording.INTERVIEW: What’s your song “I Wanna Be Darth Vader” about?CHARLI XCX: Well, last night on Britain’s Got Talent, there was this absolute twat dancing toMichael Jackson in a Darth Vader suit, which put me off a bit, but I used to think Darth Vader was really sexy—the mask, the voice, the heavy breathing, and the way that his cape whooshes when he walks.INTERVIEW: What’s your grand plan?CHARLI XCX: Well, there are a huge amount of girls out at the minute and they’re all great, but I feel like I could take them all on. I like Lady Gaga’s music and I think her fashion is great, but I saw her on a chat show and I wanted to punch her in the face. I kind of like La Roux, but her voice sometimes really annoys me. That said, I recently noticed that I’ve been doing really high notes in my songs, and I’m like, Oh no, here it comes. I’m going to turn into La Roux. And I’ve just gotten a massively short haircut with a huge fringe. Next I’ll be going ginger.
AGE: 17.
PROVENANCE: Hertfordshire.
SOUND: Pouty raps, fuzzy basslines.
INTERVIEW: How long have you been making music?CHARLI XCX: I started writing my own things when I was about 8. I used to try to bully my friends into imitating the Spice Girls on the playground. Then I realized, Oh god, my career’s going nowhere, so I looked in the Yellow Pages and phoned up the first cheap studio that I found and started recording.INTERVIEW: What’s your song “I Wanna Be Darth Vader” about?CHARLI XCX: Well, last night on Britain’s Got Talent, there was this absolute twat dancing toMichael Jackson in a Darth Vader suit, which put me off a bit, but I used to think Darth Vader was really sexy—the mask, the voice, the heavy breathing, and the way that his cape whooshes when he walks.INTERVIEW: What’s your grand plan?CHARLI XCX: Well, there are a huge amount of girls out at the minute and they’re all great, but I feel like I could take them all on. I like Lady Gaga’s music and I think her fashion is great, but I saw her on a chat show and I wanted to punch her in the face. I kind of like La Roux, but her voice sometimes really annoys me. That said, I recently noticed that I’ve been doing really high notes in my songs, and I’m like, Oh no, here it comes. I’m going to turn into La Roux. And I’ve just gotten a massively short haircut with a huge fringe. Next I’ll be going ginger.
― Moka, Sunday, 13 November 2011 01:57 (eleven years ago) link
God bless all these musicians before their PR agents get to them and they actually give fun interviews.Great songs, by the way.
― SirGreendown, Sunday, 13 November 2011 23:33 (eleven years ago) link
Whoops, meant to say "God bless all these youngish musicians while they're still giving fun interviews, before their PR agents get to them."
― SirGreendown, Sunday, 13 November 2011 23:35 (eleven years ago) link
kinda confused by seeing people have their minds blown by her. she's ok i guess, need to hear way more though - i like what i've heard but i'm not fully convinced for some reason, seems a touch heavy-handed
― all i see is angels in my eyes (lex pretend), Monday, 14 November 2011 07:59 (eleven years ago) link
Stay Away is definitely one of my favorites this year. Nuclear Seasons, not really.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 17 November 2011 18:04 (eleven years ago) link
Totally into "Nuclear Seasons" and I think I'm gonna go see her tomorrow at her first US show (!)
― Joan Cusack clumsily running into a water fountain (Stevie D(eux)), Thursday, 8 March 2012 13:32 (ten years ago) link
i love stay away. and valentine. haven't heard anything else other than nuclear seasons which a lot of people seem to like but i don't really get
― teledyldonix, Friday, 9 March 2012 01:53 (ten years ago) link
the chorus in this is great http://soundcloud.com/charlixcx/youre-the-one/s-pU6Fs
― owenf, Monday, 11 June 2012 20:51 (ten years ago) link
Still waiting for something as good as Stay Away. Not even the Icona Pop song is close imo.
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 11 June 2012 20:57 (ten years ago) link
okay so this "super ultra" mixtape is just ridiculously great
― monotony, Saturday, 10 November 2012 09:57 (ten years ago) link
It is!
― Tim F, Monday, 19 November 2012 17:25 (ten years ago) link
cosign! this is probably the closest an album has come to approximating the feel of maxinquaye for me, sounds amazing late at night. rapping over "moments in love" is p much a direct route to my heart. it's a little messy, but the songs are really there. also i didn't realize she was only 20--she'll probably go for leaner production choices in the future.
― een, Monday, 26 November 2012 05:38 (ten years ago) link
Everything is consistently excellent. Also "Heatwave" is my jam.
― Tim F, Monday, 26 November 2012 08:19 (ten years ago) link
It's almost as if... Someone made tumblr-pop that justified the adjectives and lurid colourscapes.
― Tim F, Monday, 26 November 2012 08:21 (ten years ago) link
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14932-various-artists-you-ha-ha-ha-lindstrm-remix/
Lindstrøm gives this shit a proper workout.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 14 February 2013 06:23 (nine years ago) link
i really have no idea what to make of this album, like even whether i'm enjoying it or not
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 20:53 (nine years ago) link
i feel like i'm on the brink of being completely YESSSSS THIS IS RESONATING DEEPLY WITH ME but i can't...quite...get...there and it's the kind of thing where if you're NOT on board emotionally it's kind of functionally useless
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 20:54 (nine years ago) link
"you're the one" is a bit of a monster though
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 20:55 (nine years ago) link
albeit i think i might like "you're the one" better if it didn't plunge shamelessly into its cheesy chorus?
the brooke candy verse on this is disappointingly terrible
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 20:57 (nine years ago) link
have't heard the album but from the singles can attest that if you're on board emotionally they are the best ever
― katherine, Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:41 (nine years ago) link
there's a vagueness that keeps me from being emotionally on board "you're the one" but that curving bass
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:46 (nine years ago) link
really love the lingering the verses do on "you (ha ha ha)" too
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:49 (nine years ago) link
Does she have her own "I Love It" on this? I am still curious to hear what she would have done with it instead of Icona Pop.
― boxedjoy, Wednesday, 27 March 2013 22:48 (nine years ago) link
I'm into this newest single "what I like". she has a knack for cadence
― monotony, Sunday, 31 March 2013 01:54 (nine years ago) link
streaming over @ pitchfork advance
― monotony, Tuesday, 9 April 2013 15:07 (nine years ago) link
This has very big Alisha's Attic vibes writ large all over it. It's a modern pop album that seems designed for people who grew up in the 90s, which is probably either really cute and endearing, or naff and silly, depending on your taste for talky-sung verses in the style of Siobhan Fahey when in Shakespeare's Sister.
― boxedjoy, Wednesday, 10 April 2013 22:50 (nine years ago) link
Charli XCX herself seems very much a pop starlet for the twenty-something crowd, in the way she nonchalantly swears and sings about sexual encounters but it's all framed in this goth-pop cuteness with easy melodies and simple vivid imagery. I can see this album's relationship to 90's r&b being comparable to the way Anniemal took 80's disco and made it sound very pop but very chic, even though this is a lot more obviously dark and menacing.
― boxedjoy, Wednesday, 10 April 2013 22:58 (nine years ago) link
aka the awful song with Brooke Candy made me nervous but I even don't mind that in the context of the album and You (Ha Ha Ha) is actually better than I remembered and the rest of it is great. The first three singles are still the best stuff here especially Nuclear Seasons but this is a pretty wonderful pop album.
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Thursday, 11 April 2013 03:20 (nine years ago) link
as extravagant as charli's overload of stylistic reference points is, i don't think it's what's preventing this clicking for me - basically just don't think her songwriting is quite there yet. it's a bit overstuffed but the problem is less that and more her lack of a really distinct songwriting voice
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Thursday, 11 April 2013 10:38 (nine years ago) link
or just, interesting words, or something
i think i'm the only person in the world that doesn't hate the brooke candy song. the second-to-last one "how can i" would be the dud if i had to pick one
― monotony, Thursday, 11 April 2013 13:03 (nine years ago) link
You're not alone. Cloud Aura is one of her best. That said, True Romance is a let-down for me largely due to the production. My favorite track is What I Like, but even it has it's problems. Like why start of with a great intro that gets you all hyped up, only to never reference it anywhere else in the song? Still love it, but that's just one example of the many opportunities missed by this album. I expected it to be much more in the vein of Dance 4 U and Velvet Dreaming but the album's first half is like a 90's rehash of what Little Boots was doing with 80's pop.
― Cousin Slappy, Thursday, 11 April 2013 17:45 (nine years ago) link
I've been cool on her other singles but "What I Like" is marvelous.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 11 April 2013 17:47 (nine years ago) link
this is awesome; the two-year-old songs thread in pretty seamlessly
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Tuesday, 16 April 2013 18:53 (nine years ago) link
weird but so far i prefer the album tracks to most of the singles (except "what i like" which wow). "like roses" and "take my hand" especially
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Tuesday, 16 April 2013 19:19 (nine years ago) link
black roses*
Really, really, really good record.
― monotony, Wednesday, 17 April 2013 01:59 (nine years ago) link
after seeing her live last week this album is finally seriously beginning to click for me
in a way i'm glad the singles never quite did it in isolation because i get to feel the rush of "YOU'RE JUST ELECTRIC BLUE" now instead
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Monday, 22 April 2013 19:51 (nine years ago) link
CUZ I CAN TASTE YOUR LIPS ON MY LIPSYOUR KISSES TAKE ME OUT OF CONTROLAND I CAN FEEL MY BLOOOOOOOODIT'S CRAWLING THROUGH MY VEEEEEEIIIIIIIINS
somewhere, shirley manson feels proud
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Monday, 22 April 2013 19:59 (nine years ago) link
brooke candy's rap on "cloud aura" is so so bad but the rest of it is so good
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Monday, 22 April 2013 20:01 (nine years ago) link
WHY YOU WANNA GO TO SLEEPDON'T GO TO SLEEPDON'T GO TO SLEEPLET'S GO OUUUUUT
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 22 April 2013 20:02 (nine years ago) link
hmmm i gave this album a couple spins last week but i only actually liked about half of it (mostly the front half, but some later too), the rest just became this amorphous blur of whatever
― dyl, Monday, 22 April 2013 20:03 (nine years ago) link
it's taken me about a month and about...8 or 9 plays, i guess, to click
― flamenco drop (lex pretend), Monday, 22 April 2013 20:04 (nine years ago) link
YOU'RE JUST ELECTRIC BLUUUUUUE is wonderful. all of this is wonderful.
except for brooke candy
― twinkin' and drinkin' and ready to fly (Alex in Montreal), Monday, 22 April 2013 21:02 (nine years ago) link
Is "cloud aura" the same as on last year's mixtape?
― Tim F, Monday, 22 April 2013 22:33 (nine years ago) link
yeah no changes as far as i can tell
― monotony, Monday, 22 April 2013 22:42 (nine years ago) link
"set me free" is ENORMOUS and shoulda been the lead-off single instead of "you"
― monotony, Monday, 22 April 2013 22:43 (nine years ago) link
I still don't get why "I Love It" didn't get the praise this is getting, I know it's noisy and brash but that's kinda the point?
This keeps getting better on repeated listens, it's not so much that it's a grower as
― boxedjoy, Monday, 22 April 2013 22:50 (nine years ago) link
sucker got delayed from early october to mid december in the us, and all the way to february in europe (to add a few more tracks & add rita ora to "doing it" to try to get another hit out of it). it did ok but seems like classic label mismanagement, she had real traction and reasonably big hits with "boom clap", "break the rules" and "fancy", but then in the four months between "break the rules" and the album's us release they only released a few promo singles that they barely gave a push at all. even the successful "doing it" remix in the lead up to the uk release didn't seem to help that much, & they didn't bother to give it a us push at all.
but it's also just not a very good album, "doing it" is the only track i have any lasting fondness for.
― ufo, Friday, 25 March 2022 03:12 (ten months ago) link
The UK album chart also works fairly differently to when Sucker came out. The streaming focus is part of an even faster turnaround and bigger focus on the new, and that helps more acts to reach #1 once they are above a certain level, at least for a week. Adele and Olivia Rodrigo were the only albums to spend more than one week in a row at #1 last year.
― Iain Mew (if), Friday, 25 March 2022 08:56 (ten months ago) link
yeah obviously the more direct comparison is with charli, both for charts methodology & point-in-her-career reasons.
aus #1 confirmed now
― ufo, Friday, 25 March 2022 09:25 (ten months ago) link
the added tracks... are not up to the rest!remember she was talking 2 more albums coming soon after HIFN? anyway glad she can make some deals with leverage now
― maf you one two (maffew12), Friday, 25 March 2022 13:06 (ten months ago) link
UK #1. we did it angels!
― maf you one two (maffew12), Friday, 25 March 2022 18:02 (ten months ago) link
really like this albumbaby and beg for you both great
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 25 March 2022 21:17 (ten months ago) link
― maf you one two (maffew12)
I feel a bit emotional seeing this. It's so well deserved. She's been so consistently brilliant for almost ten years now.
― kitchen person, Saturday, 26 March 2022 01:38 (ten months ago) link
the way the spanish guitar is deployed in "lightning" has real "getting away with it" vibes, probably why i've taken to it so much
― ufo, Saturday, 26 March 2022 11:42 (ten months ago) link
Charli XCX on Her Best, Hardest, and Most Mainstream Music
“It’s like, the second I started saying ‘main pop girl’ online, everyone was coming for me,” Charli says. “I was like, ‘Do you know who you stan? Obviously I’m going to deliver you something iconic. Don’t doubt me.’”
― beepy fridges (sic), Sunday, 27 March 2022 06:04 (ten months ago) link
no i think it's just because the early singles weren't great lol. if she'd started the rollout stronger i think the fanbase would have been very onboard from the start but as it was "good ones" was slight & perfunctory and wasn't really good as a charli track or as a big sell-out pop move
& her constantly getting mad at fans on twitter who were underwhelmed by the album campaign just made them more annoyed lol
good read though
― ufo, Sunday, 27 March 2022 06:46 (ten months ago) link
pic.twitter.com/iVduj5p8ko— @FckyeahCharli / Charli XCX Updates Media (@fckyeahcharliHD) March 27, 2022
this is the sort of trolling of her fans that's good though (playing unreleased tracks she's long-refused to officially release over the pa after her show)
― ufo, Sunday, 27 March 2022 08:19 (ten months ago) link
extremely obviously her best since pop 2
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:30 (ten months ago) link
You didn't like How I'm Feeling Now?
― peace, man, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:38 (ten months ago) link
it was fine
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:40 (ten months ago) link
who are you and what have you done with Brad?
― maf you one two (maffew12), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:43 (ten months ago) link
Damn, that might be the coldest review of HIFN I've ever read.
― peace, man, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:44 (ten months ago) link
these are the songiest charli songs in a minute so i could be reacting to that
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:45 (ten months ago) link
Oh yeah, they definitely have that going for them.
― peace, man, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:47 (ten months ago) link
the notion that HIFN was not 'songy' is violence
― imago, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:49 (ten months ago) link
this is a decent, competently-made pop album, HIFN was a singular seizing of the moment and work of timeless brilliance
― imago, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:50 (ten months ago) link
you are a work of timeless exhaustion
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:52 (ten months ago) link
i am literally terrified that you'll declare the new Mitski her best too now
― imago, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:56 (ten months ago) link
i haven't enjoyed a mitski album since puberty 2
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:57 (ten months ago) link
BRAD
― imago, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:57 (ten months ago) link
"lightning" gonna make me return to my "flamenco drop" dn
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 15:59 (ten months ago) link
ok i can feel that on Mitski
― maf you one two (maffew12), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 16:24 (ten months ago) link
need to give this a proper shot but the Rosalia album is fully occupying my recent pop album bandwidth rn
― Murgatroid, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 16:30 (ten months ago) link
first and last tracks were my favorite at first blush. love the little elements of "love come down" and "outstanding" that creep into "crash," and "twice" has this fluttery melody that won't leave my head.
― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 29 March 2022 16:35 (ten months ago) link
what's not "songy" on hifn, just "pink diamond"?
don't really understand liking pop 2 but not hifn
― ufo, Tuesday, 29 March 2022 21:26 (ten months ago) link
If I were to guess, Pink Diamond, I Finally Understand, C2.0, Party 4 U...
― peace, man, Wednesday, 30 March 2022 10:31 (ten months ago) link
it was a broad claim i have no interest in explaining
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 30 March 2022 11:46 (ten months ago) link
I recommend pounding Anthems at brain-melting volume until it snaps into focus.
― assert (matttkkkk), Wednesday, 30 March 2022 12:49 (ten months ago) link
but it's also just not a very good album, "doing it" is the only track i have any lasting fondness for.dude i’m RIGHT HERE.
― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 30 March 2022 13:07 (ten months ago) link
Anyone else going to the gig tonight? Or this tour?
Really excited, not been to any gig since pre pandemic!
― a hoy hoy, Thursday, 19 May 2022 15:04 (eight months ago) link
Not going tonight, but going to the one in Norwich on Saturday, very excited.
― Chewshabadoo, Thursday, 19 May 2022 21:25 (eight months ago) link
I saw an amazing video of someone throwing the trans flag with Princess Di's face on it at the stage
― boxedjoy, Friday, 20 May 2022 08:05 (eight months ago) link
It was fun. Only some small criticisms: A bit too much new album or singles I don’t care for (crowd went insane for 1999) and not enough of the era I love. Dunno if she needed 30 outfit changes either, kinda would slow the momentum.
― a hoy hoy, Friday, 20 May 2022 09:55 (eight months ago) link
she iconic tho.still playing Crash a lot. Do i like it more than Pop 2?!?!?!!! Maybe. How I'm Feeling Now is the best.. but not gonna replay it this much. Currently can't get enough of Beg For You, particularly the endRina: [vocal acrobatics]Charli: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. perfection
― maf you one two (maffew12), Friday, 27 May 2022 15:10 (eight months ago) link
Concert last week was so much fun, and the audience absolutely lapped up the whole show.
― Chewshabadoo, Friday, 27 May 2022 15:12 (eight months ago) link
omg that Alexandria Palace setlist rules!
― maf you one two (maffew12), Friday, 27 May 2022 15:13 (eight months ago) link
ok pretty much the same at Norwich and wherever. aaa so jealous
― maf you one two (maffew12), Friday, 27 May 2022 15:14 (eight months ago) link
ok "Forever" or "Anthems" would've gone a long way
― maf you one two (maffew12), Friday, 27 May 2022 15:18 (eight months ago) link
About a week after going to the gig I heard “Move Me” again and it reminded me how incredible the performance on the night was – spellbindingly so – and I’ve been a little bit obsessed with the song since.
― Chewshabadoo, Monday, 6 June 2022 18:29 (seven months ago) link
show at a local festival over the weekend was great!
― mh, Monday, 11 July 2022 20:51 (six months ago) link
she's playing here the same day i already have a ticket to see pavement
and i love charli way more than pavement but charli will probably be back in a few years while pavement won't ugh
― ufo, Thursday, 15 December 2022 03:08 (one month ago) link
does your username come from the fact WA might as well be in space sometimes lol
search within yourself, the quandary will resolve
― imago, Thursday, 15 December 2022 09:04 (one month ago) link
i've never been to WA so i wouldn't know
― ufo, Thursday, 15 December 2022 13:32 (one month ago) link
I've been to paradise but I've never been to WA
― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Thursday, 15 December 2022 13:49 (one month ago) link
This bump reminds me that being a Gen Xer who laments for the days of the 80s extended mix of singles, I am very grateful for people like ben. who have been making edits of the tracks from Crash.
Here’s Constant Repeat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFR-BLxNneI
But they have done extended edits of the whole album if you investigate their channel, and I wish this was more of a standard thing.
And, here’s the plug bit, I played this mix in my best of 2022 show here: https://soundcloud.com/1btn/inter-mission-09122022
― Chewshabadoo, Friday, 16 December 2022 00:15 (one month ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awe3m4yVeT4
― ufo, Saturday, 21 January 2023 04:05 (two weeks ago) link