Brat Remix Album Review
You might’ve thought brat summer is over but get ready for brat autumn!!
On Friday the 11th of October, Charli xcx released the remix album of her critically acclaimed sixth album: BRAT. Each track is remixed with countless prominent artists as features, including but not limited to Ariana Grande, Troye Sivan, A. G. Cook, Lorde and Caroline Polachek, just to name a few. Ever since the announcement about a month ago I have been waiting forever for it to come out.
It’s a completely new look for almost each song which really makes me want to put it on repeat like the initial release; hooked on the amount of dopamine it releases in my brain.
The singles ‘360’, Von Dutch’ and '365’ keep the energy high like the orginal with catchy verse additions from their features, 365 even having a more trance/techno vibe. Both versions of each song are something you'll probably hear and dance to at the club because hell yes.
‘Club classics’ featuring Bb trickz adds a Spanish kick to it, to which I don't know what she's saying but absolutely love it. Goes just as hard as ‘Gasolina’ not gonna lie.
Ariana, The 1975 and Bon Iver's feature songs really did not do much to me and I gotta hit snooze on those sorry 😪
‘Talk talk’ featuring troye sivan took a few listens to grow on me but now as a fan of both artists and having listened to troye's most recent album I love it. They sampled one of troye's songs and it fits in there so well I was freaking out.
I may be biased but ‘Everything is romantic’ almost made me cry, the vocal performance of Caroline is as always ethereal and impressive.
‘Rewind’ featuring bladee pretty much kept the original beat but nonetheless really gave this sadboi energy like brakence in a way and kept a more predictable stance on what a ‘remix’ usually is.
‘So I’ featuring A. G. Cook takes the already homage song for SOPHIE to another level of appreciation for her legacy and impact on the music industry.
‘Girl so confusing’ featuring none other than Lorde was one of the first remix tracks released shortly after the original album and it made pop culture history. The song describes the awkward relationship charli and lorde have had over the years due to the press either always pitting them against each other or automatically assuming they must be best friends while neither was true. Charli actually sent the original song prior to release to Lorde and asked if she'd want to collaborate. Lorde was touched and added her perspective on why their relationship was so awkward / complicated and everyone cried when she included the line “and I'd ride for you charli” as this was a true win for female pop star friendship 🥹
‘Apple’ featuring The Japanese House turns the tiktok famous earworm into an instant indie pop banger incorporating some more confessional lyrics from charli with “sometimes when I go home, it doesn’t feel like home” heard on repeat towards the end.
‘B2b’ featuring Tinashe has this really addictive synth melody that lowkey takes you back to the good old 90s club/pop music. I'm also happy charli has added more lines of lyrics as the original was actually just a repetition of the single line “back to back to back…”.
‘Mean girls’ has the most unexpected feature which is Julian Casablancas, former front man of The Strokes, and gives the song an interesting post-punk twist.
‘Guess’ ft. billie eilish has also been released previously and the music video of billie and charli digging through a pile of lingerie definitely made waves online. The sexy whispering voice of billie combined with the pulsating beat afterwards really makes this one for the girls and the gays 😳
Overall this album was a great listen and one living up to the standards of remix albums like 100 gecs’ '1000 gecs and The Tree of Clues’ also featuring A. G. Cook and Charli xcx.
If you haven't checked out the original brat album yet definitely go do that and see which remix you like more compared to the original!
Favorite track(s): Everything is romantic (ft. Caroline Polachek), 365 (featuring shygirl), So I (feat. A. G. Cook), Apple (feat. The Japanese House) and B2b (feat. Tinashe).
Least favorite track: sympathy is a knife (ft. Ariana Grande), I might say something stupid (ft. The 1975)
Score: 78/100
