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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Skinny
Alongside indulgently unadorned ruminations on fear and love, the record is boundlessly liberating, decadently indulgent, and irresistibly danceable. Aitchison has delivered her greatest work yet.
90
Highsnobiety

Charli carries certain face-melting properties; several of its songs blister, warp, and decompose over time, as a result of Cook and company’s habit of introducing new production elements as each track unfolds.

90
The Needle Drop

Charli is a near-perfect balance of trusty pop formulas and PC Music experimentalism.

90
Clash

Whereas at times bordering on abrasive to unseasoned ears, Charli’s work can appeal to pop-lovers of all stripes.

88
Paste

Charli rockets down the same hyperspeed lane as Pop 2, and like its predecessor, it’s home to a staggering number of unyielding future-pop anthems.

83
Consequence of Sound

Charli packs in plenty of wow and proves to be more than worth the wait.

80
Evening Standard

This 15-track album is her most personal and mature record, while still maintaining the right balance of poppy party songs with which the 27-year-old singer (real name Charlotte Emma Aitchison) has made her name.

80
The Telegraph

The sexy android cover and star-studded collaborations on her third album, Charli, suggest an all-guns-blazing pitch for blockbuster status. But the contents are far weirder than that implies.

80
The Arts Desk

Charli, with its mixture of styles and guest features from across the worlds of rap, pop and hip hop, is her gift to you.

80
Tiny Mix Tapes

Charli sets a standard, with room for input, for adjustment, for putting faith in the sum, in partnership, in yourself, in parties, in pop.

80
The Observer

It is, hands down, the best iteration of XCX yet, the one where Aitchison’s pop capabilities line up most persuasively with her avant garde ear.

80
Gigwise

It’s clear that Charli XCX is a songwriter who is willing to take risks and make striking artistic decisions. She’s unafraid to go where pop hasn’t gone, and it’s an attitude sorely needed in an industry that remains conflicted between following trends and individuality.

80
Rolling Stone
Her first official LP in five years gathers a fluid global dream team for a wild, joyously bummed-out set of avant-pop bangers.
80
Slant Magazine

The result is a collection of sad bops masquerading as bangers, just as perfect for the club as for a solo bedroom dance party.

80
The Guardian

The embattled singer reveals her anxieties and coaxes brilliance from various guests in a candid, confident third album.

80
NME

The result of years of experimentation, this album enlists established stars and emerging talents to create a work that is quintessentially Charli XCX.

80
The Independent

New album wears its raw, metallic beats and synths on the outside.

80
Exclaim!

They've created an Event Pop Record with purpose, pointing the way forward while positioning Aitchison as a pop artist with something to say.

78
Pitchfork

With adventurous production and revealing writing, Charli XCX’s third studio album reflects an artist ready to commit to self-examination.

70
musicOMH

Charli is not the perfect pop album, nor is it a fully developed manifesto for where pop could go, but it is a collection of enjoyable, interesting tracks that don’t sound completely alien, but also don’t sound like anyone involved is selling out.

70
The Line of Best Fit
Although she could often benefit from an editor, her process and vision doesn’t adhere to the music industry’s prioritisation of the album format – which feels right for an artist whose music could be read as an attempt to dissolve time itself.
70
Loud and Quiet

Each collaboration allows her to explore different sides of her persona while still presenting something holistic.  It’s also just a bloody good pop album with lots of highlights.

70
Under The Radar

Despite these brief lulls, Charli is another winning release from an artist who won't be stopped in pushing pop music into the 22nd century.

70
Spectrum Culture

Charli shies away from extremes, its emotions sharply drawn but never devastating, its beats playfully abrasive but only occasionally mind-bending.

70
Crack Magazine

Her third studio album is more immersive and exudes more confidence than anything in her catalogue thus far.

70
DIY

Next-level Charli happens, it seems, to be largely a continuation of the same Charli.

70
AllMusic

In a way, its unevenness is only fitting for an artist as committed to blurring pop's artistic boundaries and connecting the dots between its past, present, and future as she is -- that she's this hard to pin down this far into her career is exactly what makes her a continually intriguing talent.

60
PopMatters

The uncertain atmosphere hinders the album's climb to the heights of Pop 2 and Vroom Vroom, projects with similar ideas yet much less restraint when enacting them.

60
The Sydney Morning Herald

As a celebrity, Charli is a fully realised exercise in innovation, inclusivity and irreverence, but her blind dedication to techno textures (Cross You Out) and PC music soundscapes are alienating experiments that hinder her potential.

60
The Irish Times
It lacks the sparkle of Shura or Billie Eilish, but is still an accomplished effort.
BradTasteMusic
98

Wow! What an unexpected effort from Charli XCX.

This album is everything I love about pop music. Such a fantastic effort. It is catchy, instantaneous, incredibly consistent, and creative.

This album travels through a large variety of pop music styles, adding a twist to all of them. Charli XCX, even hiding behind a robotic wall of autotune, is such a powerful voice who carries such powerful emotion through this album. The production is so visceral. I absolutely adored some of the melodies on ... read more

exception
85

Anyone who listened to Charli XCX's leaked project XCX World can see the ambition she had to create a cohesive album. I think Charli has been largely thought of as a singles artist for the past few years due to various label/leak/other issues, along with many of the singles she has put out (ex. Boys, 1999) being very popular on their own and did not need to be put on a project. But Charli isn't just gonna sit around and drop banger singles all the time, sometimes she's got to put a ton of ... read more

WhatTheFunk
64

Dear Charli,

It is with deep respect for all your work that I take the liberty of writing this review.
If I had to qualify this album, the first word would be the album of maturity.
You've chosen to be the emblem of this whole generation of fresh pop that's bursting with raw talent. And you fight to highlight them by offering them a visibility thanks to all the feats present on your album.
On a more technical level, this album pushes back the perfection we expect from the production. There is ... read more

Natron
90

Groundbreaking Pop

Fav Tracks: All of them
Least Fav Tracks: Shake It

judekimedwards
100

Just the best album.

Venni
NR

next level charli is my most listened to song on spotify lmao

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Track List

1Next Level Charli
2:37
91
2Gone
4:06
95
3Cross You Out
3:28
90
41999
3:09
90
5Click
3:53
87
6Warm
3:45
feat. HAIM
81
7Thoughts
3:11
85
8Blame It On Your Love
3:11
feat. Lizzo
80
9White Mercedes
3:23
89
10Silver Cross
3:28
88
11I Don't Wanna Know
3:05
84
12Official
3:04
87
13Shake It
4:35
83
14February 2017
2:33
feat. Clairo, Yaeji
85
152099
3:25
88
Total Length: 50 minutes
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Added on: June 13, 2019