Charli XCX
Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat
ATLANTIC
If you’re not thoroughly over the ubiquity of everything/everybody dubbed “brat” over the past seven months, then this remix-not-a-remix edition of Charli XCX’s hot spring instant-classic is for you. Because rather than just being the hyperpop-driven, raw-raging soundtrack to the party and all the nervous vulnerability that was 2024, Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat (or Brat 2—it’s cleaner) is actually its own party, with guests like The 1975, Ariana Grande, Bon Iver, Caroline Polachek, Tinashe, Billie Eilish, Lorde, Troye Sivan, Robyn, and The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas all constantly talking over their hostess.
True to any party experience, some of Charli’s guest revelers are loud and boisterous, while others show up empty-handed. Take “Talk Talk,” on which current tourmate Troye Sivan’s coked-up chatting over-emotes atop Charl’s alt-dance angst, or “Club Classics,” which allows Spanish rapper/producer Bb trickz to add some flavor to the conversation. Then there’s not-so-wicked Ariana Grande who brings nothing to her take on “Sympathy Is a Knife” but nail-biting, energy-draining saltiness, and quavering vocalist Caroline Polachek who shouts down “Everything Is Romantic” with loudly intoned and downright weird lyrics (you know how some party guests just spout garbled non sequiturs when they’re drunk?).
Quiet corners and separate rooms for slow jams and bumped-up grinding are what make any bash worthwhile—and they’re what makes Brat 2 bold, as heard on minimalist Jon Hopkins’ oozing, blue take on “I Might Say Something” with a goofy vocal feature from Matty Healy. As for making the sensual most of Brat and its electro-laced version of quiet storming, Billie Eilish and Finneas turn “Guess” into an orgasmic marvel with twitchy vocals and a slinky bassline. Elsewhere, The Japanese House makes “Apple” more charming and bright than the original, Lorde’s post–Kate Bush demeanor turns a sweaty “Girl, So Confusing” into zotzed-out art pop, and Casablancas brings the stringy new wave and an odd Herbie Hancock sample to “Mean Girls.”
And like any great party, I don’t remember the rest of it.
