Crash - Charli XCX: Review
Charli XCX
is a popstar unlike any other and one that really needs no introduction if you've been paying attention to music in any capacity. After scoring a few early radio hits, most notably Boom Clap, she turned her sights on experimental pop and hyperpop. Along the way she created some of the genre's most acclaimed songs and albums while working with some of its most innovative producers like A.G. Cook and Sophie. She is also responsible for jumpstarting the careers of numerous artists in the scene through collaborations on her projects.
Review By Lav:
It's hard to imagine somebody feeling neutral about Charli XCX. Either you're a big music fan and you've been following her career closely since 2015's Vroom Vroom EP through her explorations and innovations within the world of hyperpop. Or alternatively you like radio music in which case she has disappeared completely from your radar since singing the hook on Iggy Azalea Fancy, with maybe the sole exception of an opening spot on a Taylor Swift tour. So in case you're new to her you should know that this is a very different release for Charli XCX. Hype for her last few projects has been through the roof but this one was met with much more divisiveness. With the singles leading up to the project and the change in promotional style Charli made it very clear that she was going for a much more radio friendly and accessible sound than fans were used to. While that is no doubt the case on this album, it is hardly a sell out and there is still more than enough Charli here to satisfy most fans.
Let me start this review by taking you to the exact moment I started wondering about this era, when I heard Good Ones playing at H&M. I love pop music as much as anybody and I have the reviews of Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo to prove it, but this was not something anybody could have expected from Charli XCX. Maybe American Eagle has been bumping songs like 2099 and Pink Diamond but I doubt it, because Charli hasn't been that kind of artist in a while. Good Ones was the lead single to the record and announced her shift in scope immediately but when all is said and done it's really just a straightforward pop song. With a decent hook and a methodical club beat I think it's a perfectly alright tune. What made me worry a lot more was the following single New Shapes which I've had a lot of time to sit with and still can't quite understand why it hasn't clicked with me. The hook starts off the song with a bang promising such big things but it just never even comes close to delivering. It feels like a march of refrains that don't build up any momentum or excitement before the hook comes slamming in again. It is still one of my least favorite tracks on the album.
Let's get some of the bad out of the way first, the record very rarely deploys genuinely bad sounds but that doesn't save some of these songs from being very boring. Move Me is being carried entirely by Charli's charm because the dry rattling trap style instrumental isn't doing anything for anyone. The saving grace of the song is how versatile Charli manages to be with her singing across the various passages.
Two of my other least favorite songs on the record come back to back on Yuck and Used To Know Me. The former has a hook that gets off to a great start but ends up totally fumbling it by the end. The instrumental certainly doesn't do anything to pick up the slack. Used To Know Me on the other hand might be the most generic song of Chrali's entire career where she sounds like any one of the dozens of industry plants with one forgettable mid-level chart hit. On the bridge it shifts into some "la la las" that sound so much like Camila Cabello it makes me wish I was just listening to a Camila song.
The reason I was still expecting some pretty good things from this record is the third and fourth singles. Beg For You really grabbed me which is nice because my expectations were high given it sports a Rina Sawayama feature. The bumping club beat is irresistible but not as irresistible as the dramatic, world conquering hook. It's lustful, catchy and perfectly performed. Baby came next and it's by FAR the best of the singles with its Toxic strings and absolutely immaculate synth lines. The whole song is a style of erotic that's perfectly on brand for a pop star and the underlying instrumental feels like something Dua Lipa would have killed on Future Nostalgia. It's an absolute banger.
Speaking of bangers, Crash opens the song up with an uncompromising sonic palette. Those crashing, shimmering A.G. Cook synths handing in the background are awesome and the song generally just sports a dense mix and impressive instrumental arrangement. Lightning has quickly become a fan favorite and for good reason because it fucking rules. I love the song's percussion and the booming claps that punctuate the beat. It's one of those sun kissed but still heavily synthetic Charli love songs that she is just perfect at making.
There's a meme or sorts among Charli XCX fans that each of her albums has an underrated ballad that doesn't get the credit it deserves because her fans mostly gravitate towards the bangers, and that's Every Rule. While the cloudy instrumental isn't necessarily all that impressive I think Charli flexes her skills as a storyteller to great results. Not only is she capable of emotional songwriting but also the necessary emotional performance to pull it off. Constant Repeat kind of goes along with the more simple pop songs on the record but it's one of the better ones. The sentiment of the song is really charming with Charli flexing how much her ex probably still thinks about her which comes off as a much deserved victory lap. While the song is pretty reserved by Charli's standards and I can imagine a more involved and experimental version that would be better, I still have to admit that I like what is here.
Finally there's Twice which comes as a very much appreciated closer saving the record from ending on a bad run. It has a bouncy almost tropical instrumental that is utterly blissful. I love the whole theme of not thinking too much and just acting. It's a great sentiment that ends the album off on a lovely note.
There's a lot to assess when trying to judge Crash. If this was a debut album from a previously unknown pop girl I would say it was fundamentally flawed but showed immense potential, but the coverage will always be mired in Charli's own history. So no, I don't enjoy Crash as much as her last few projects but that is no reason to hate on the record given how much it does right. In fact I would say the issue with Crash is less about the change of sound and more about it just being one of her most inconsistent tracklists ever. Despite all that there are a number of highlights to be found and generally speaking this is a more well thought out and generally enjoyable mainstream pop record than most artists are capable of delivering in 2022. Like I said, it's complicated. 6.5/10
I love everything about this as a photograph but I'm a lot less crazy about it as an album cover. The colors are strong and the composition has a direct line to where you're supposed to be looking. There should be some sort of branding even though Charli is right there on the cover. The blank space at the bottom right could hold text or something to bring it all together. 7/10
