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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
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
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
Charli is a near-perfect balance of trusty pop formulas and PC Music experimentalism.
90
Whereas at times bordering on abrasive to unseasoned ears, Charli’s work can appeal to pop-lovers of all stripes.
88
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
Charli packs in plenty of wow and proves to be more than worth the wait.
80
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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 embattled singer reveals her anxieties and coaxes brilliance from various guests in a candid, confident third album.
80
The result of years of experimentation, this album enlists established stars and emerging talents to create a work that is quintessentially Charli XCX.
80
New album wears its raw, metallic beats and synths on the outside.
80
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
With adventurous production and revealing writing, Charli XCX’s third studio album reflects an artist ready to commit to self-examination.
70
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
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
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
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
Charli shies away from extremes, its emotions sharply drawn but never devastating, its beats playfully abrasive but only occasionally mind-bending.
70
Her third studio album is more immersive and exudes more confidence than anything in her catalogue thus far.
70
Next-level Charli happens, it seems, to be largely a continuation of the same Charli.
70
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
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
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
It lacks the sparkle of Shura or Billie Eilish, but is still an accomplished effort.
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
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
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
Contributions By
patton, philthy, MusicXXY, Novell_sx, Edgeworth, Pacaveli, parent, mehercanthuman, ritchse, domvic, anztec, wless, South101, sweertner, MikeOwen, Maxinelliott, JoaoSantos, estevancomn, FaintBecome a Donor
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Track List
| 1 | Next Level Charli 2:37 | 91 |
| 2 | Gone 4:06 | 95 |
| 3 | Cross You Out 3:28 feat. Sky Ferreira | 90 |
| 4 | 1999 3:09 with Troye Sivan | 90 |
| 5 | Click 3:53 feat. Kim Petras, Tommy Cash | 87 |
| 6 | Warm 3:45 feat. HAIM | 81 |
| 7 | Thoughts 3:11 | 85 |
| 8 | Blame It On Your Love 3:11 feat. Lizzo | 80 |
| 9 | White Mercedes 3:23 | 89 |
| 10 | Silver Cross 3:28 | 88 |
| 11 | I Don't Wanna Know 3:05 | 84 |
| 12 | Official 3:04 | 87 |
| 13 | Shake It 4:35 | 83 |
| 14 | February 2017 2:33 | 85 |
| 15 | 2099 3:25 feat. Troye Sivan | 88 |
Total Length: 50 minutes
Year End Lists
| #1 | / | The Needle Drop |
| #3 | / | The Wild Honey Pie |
| #6 | / | The Observer: Kitty Empire |
| #10 | / | Idolator |
| #10 | / | Noisey |
| #10 | / | PAPER |
| #15 | / | MondoSonoro |
| #21 | / | The Guardian |
| #22 | / | Stereogum |
| #23 | / | The Young Folks |
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By landlalt
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1w
blame it on your love sounds so good when you aint got a bitch in ya ear telling you it's a butchered version of track 10
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Added on: June 13, 2019