After a career-defining summer that launched Charli XCX into the zeitgeist, Charli marks the end of “brat summer” with the release of the “Brat” remix album “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.”
In what could have been an album pandering to the massive audience she garnered this summer, “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” is a bittersweet and personal end to a summer-long party. The album features a diverse list of collaborators, ranging from pop icons like Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish to Spanish rapper BB Trickz and producer A. G. Cook, causing each song on the album to feel completely different, yet still utterly brat.
Through the release of remixes throughout the “Brat” rollout, Charli has created songs that feel like they have a life of their own, constantly changing and developing as new remixes are dropped. One of my personal favorite songs on the original album is “Girl, so confusing,” which is a song about the insecurities that arise in female friendships in the music industry, specifically in her friendship with Lorde.
The song is spent questioning whether they are friends or competitors, continually questioning “how do you feel being a girl?” and begging for a response that is not there. However, on June 21, “Girl, so confusing featuring lorde” was released, serving as not only a response to the original version, but as a deeply personal look into the misunderstandings that lead to fractures in female friendship.
Possibly the most hard-hitting song on the remix album is “So I featuring a. g. cook,” which is about Charli’s friendship with the late SOPHIE. While the original version of “So I” is about missing SOPHIE and the shame Charli feels about pulling away from her, the remixed version is a nostalgic reflection on all the beautiful parts of their friendship, with the line “I want to think about all the good times” repeated throughout the song.
These mere two examples help highlight the most important takeaway from “Brat” as a whole: Cherish your friends and the time you spend with them.
“Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” echoes this message loud and clear, as each song is the product of making art with friends. It is an album entirely born out of love and connections formed with other people in the music industry, which is undeniably beautiful.
So, if you are looking for fun music to listen to as daylight grows shorter, listen to “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” because brat summer may be over, but Charli XCX is for life.
