Charli XCX’s “Brat” garnered tons of buzz when released. The album generated a movement across social media platforms known as “brat summer.” The word dominated news outlets after Charli XCX endorsed Kamala Harris on X, announcing “kamala IS brat.”As summer came to a close, the “brat movement” relented as it awaited the drop of Charli XCX’s “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.”
It is no longer an indie sleaze autumn. It is “Bratumn.” With the remix album, Charli XCX has recaptured the essence of “Brat” and applied it to the isolation and romanticism of autumn. Celebrations fill the restless nights of summer, while fall creates isolation and time for reminiscing. Her album brings together old friends, new friends, frenemies and idols.
Each song on the remix album has a feature. The musical guests include Ariana Grande, Lorde, Troye Sivan and Julian Casablancas. The original album focused on the hyperpop elements of Charli XCX’s work juxtaposed with gut-wrenchingly personal yet universal allegories for womanhood, generational trauma and love. The remix amplifies these themes and adds the perspective of new artists.
“Talk talk” featuring Sivan, “Girl, so confusing” featuring Lorde and “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish released as singles. Lorde’s feature captured the hearts of fans and became a phenomenon itself as people announced, “Let’s work it out on the remix.” These singles generated a lot of expectations for the remix album — expectations met by Charli XCX.
The best song on the album, “Everything is romantic” featuring Caroline Polachek, slows down the tempo of the original to better convey the sense of longing created by one’s desire to romanticize everything through the use of music. Polachek’s psychedelic pop style melds perfectly with the hyperpop track to create a juxtaposition between reality and the fantastical. As a “girl throws up from the back of a Lime,” Polacheck and Charli XCX put their “headphone[s] on [and] hit play” and “All things change in the blink of an eye.” The song transitions out. Music has become a form of escape; “Bratumn” will offer comfort.
One of the few songs on the album that does not live up to the original is “Von dutch A.G. Cook remix” featuring Addison Rae. Rae has been releasing great music with singles, like “Diet Pepsi” and “Aquamarine.” She has begun developing a dream-like pop sound that becomes lost in Charli XCX’s production. The behind-the-scenes footage of the song’s recording highlights the friendship between the artists, but the mix, unfortunately, glosses over any of the chemistry between these musicians. The lyrics do not feel as intense as the other remixes, and Rae does not receive enough room to add her own flair. The end product becomes a song best on “Brat” rather than its remix.
“Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” represents a deeper exploration of the themes in “Brat.” The album is not simply Charli XCX capitalizing on the hype of her original album. The album invites audiences and artists into the brat lifestyle while working a 9-5, grappling with seasonal depression and the finite nature of time as the year comes to an end.
