Yesterday’s future of pop is teaming up with today’s future of pop. The Welsh singer ELIO released her excellent Can You Hear Me Now EP this past January and now she’s taken one of its highlights for a remix with Charli XCX. XCX has been championing the pop startup for a while now, joining the 23-year-old’s crew as a “manager-slash-creative consultant.”
“Charger” leaves ELIO in the aftermath of a relationship blowout. She’s well on her way (“Already got my bags / Already cleared the air”) but she left behind one very important accessory. Yup, her charger. And she’s “3 percent away from being stranded.” ELIO’s voice is soft and neat, akin to Clairo. Coupled with ELIO’s poignant and relatable songwriting, “Charger” is one of the great anxiety-provoking pop songs about technology—an area that her mentor is also gifted in. Charli hops on the track to make clear that the electrical cord wasn’t the only thing forgotten at the ex-lover’s house. “I left a piece of my heart there / I wish I never cared,” she sings.
This is the first glimpse that ELIO is sharing from a forthcoming remix EP. She’s also released a flashy music video. Check it out below.
