By: Caitlin Sweeney

Brat


Brat by Charli XCX was initially released on June 7th, 2024. The bright green she virtually
trademarked for the album took the world by storm. Charli deemed the summer “brat summer,”
encapsulating everything the album meant – pop culture was defined during this period of time
by everyone striving to be brat. Brat was rebranded during this era to have a positive connotation
of a confident, hot girl, who was unafraid of others’ opinions.


The album was an introspective work where Charli mixes her inspired DJ abilities with a look
into her feelings about dealing with fame. Many songs on the album were in a perfect
juxtaposition, with fast-paced electronic beats and vulnerable lyrics detailing relatable feelings of
self-doubt and grief. The album does an incredible job of bringing light to universal experiences,
like losing a friend, deciding between a career and starting a family, imposter syndrome, etc.


Charli’s raw honesty on these topics allows the audience to have an easier time empathizing with
the less relatable topics, i.e.) the struggle to feel relevant in the music industry.
Overall, the album is versatile. Some songs fit well in a club environment, while others are better
for alone and contemplative listening.
3.5/5

Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat
With an influx of fans to Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, NY – Brat 2 was released.
Most of the fans believed this album would be a simple deluxe version or remixes, but instead, it
turned out to be an entirely different album. The song names and themes may have stayed the
same, but the songs often did not have the same message. For instance, the “So I” remix focuses
on the good times between Charli and her lost friend, SOPHIE, as opposed to the original song,
which was about coping with a life without them.
Each song was reimagined with a feature, including big names like Ariana Grande, Bon Iver, and
the 1975. In many of these songs, Charli stepped back and became more of a producer, allowing
the artist to create their interpretation of the original song. Other songs were a mix of the new
artist and Charli’s alteration of the original work and its meaning. It takes an incredible
dedication to the artwork to step back and allow the recreation of artwork so emotional for
Charli.
The ability of Charli to not only create Brat 1, having it reach the fame that it did, but also to
release an entirely new album is a feat achieved by very few. Especially creating an album that is
completely new and complements the former. The second version of Brat is even better than the
original. Brat 1 took the world by storm, but Brat 2 solidified the prowess of this album.
5/5