by Matt Juniper
Artist: Charli XCX
Release: True Romance (2013)
Label: IAMSOUND
Rating: 4 / 5
Considering Charlotte Aitchison (Charli XCX) is just 20 years old it is pretty crazy that it feels like we’ve been waiting for her debut album forever. But for an artist who has playing raves since 14 years of age, inking a record deal at 16 and penning a platinum single for Icona Pop (I Love It) at 18, Charli already feels like a veteran of the pop scene.
Since the 2011 release of the insanely awesome singles Nuclear Seasons and Stay Away her fans have been waiting with feverish anticipation to get their hands on an album. Asked recently why this album took so long to arrive, Charli responded, “You only get one first record. So why bother making it if you’re gonna make it shit?”. Fair point. After hearing the album it is also a seemingly wise move.
Off the bat, there seemed to be some questionable decisions made with ‘True Romance‘, particularly the inclusion of six previously released tracks. For most people, this 13-track album contains only seven songs that would be brand new to their ears (much less if they dissected her ‘Heartbreaks & Earthquakes‘ mixtape). This type of strategy can often raise a red flag about an artist having a shallow pool of quality material. But a listen to the album shows that the remaining seven songs hold up extremely well in terms of quality and the six older tracks are all so incredibly strong that they are deserving of a proper release.
What makes this release most satisfying is that it is another sign of life for the once dead genre of radio-ready pop music. Much like the revival of R&B and Hip Hop over the last couple years, we are seeing pop artists that are pushing the boundaries of their genre, writing their own music and bringing refreshing new hooks to the table at a time when everything seems tired and redundant. Charli XCX is one of the brightest stars for this movement.
Nuclear Seasons may honestly be the best 80s pop track that I have heard produced outside of that decade. You (Ha Ha Ha) and You’re the One sound even better in the context of the album than they did as singles. Cloud Aura makes the seemingly intolerable Brooke Candy seem not just tolerable, but enjoyable.
[youtube_sc url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGmM2l39LEs” theme=”light”]
And then there’s the newer material. Take My Hand is a modern party jam, Grins samples Blood Diamonds’ track heavily, turning it in to a dizzying mess of lovesickness and How Can I is a dark, regretful introspective track.
Considering how many different places and timeframes these tracks come from that they all fit together so perfectly seems miraculous. But also makes perfect sense when we consider the artist behind it all. This is a statement to all those who weren’t already in the know: Charli XCX has arrived and we can all expect to see a lot more of her in the future.
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