AOTY 2023

True Romance

Charli XCX - True Romance
Critic Score
Based on 20 reviews
2013 Ratings: #619 / 1115
User Score
2013 Ratings: #319
Liked by 95 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
No Ripcord

On True Romance, Charli XCX manages that rarest of things – a straight-up pop record that’s inventive and rewards repeated listening.

85
The Line of Best Fit
The album is effectively a gallery of XCX’s work so far – the introductory, defining goth pop tracks, the expanding artistry beyond what Charli herself defined goth pop as, the balance she seems to be currently attempting to strike between the two; all are laid on display, denoting her roughly two year evolution in easy to trace lines.
85
The 405

It's scintillating, razor-sharp and effortless, but most in-your-facedly, it's caked with pop glitter.

83
Pitchfork

In an era when too many up-and-comers are all too eager to please, this stubborn refusal to back down displays another quality in short supply: genuine irreverence.

80
Tiny Mix Tapes

There isn’t a moment when Charli XCX doesn’t display the kind of wild, brash confidence that other artists take years to arrive at.

80
The Guardian
London's Charlotte Aitchison is just 20, but she's already got four years of banging away at pop's door under her belt. By not rushing out an album until now, however, she seems to have found the time to iron out the creases that made her seem like one of a dozen similar acts.
80
AllMusic

Since quite a few of these songs were already road-tested, it's not surprising that this is a strong debut, but just how consistently catchy and personal True Romance is might raise a few eyebrows.

75
Under the Radar

Part of the pack she may be, but Charli XCX proves she's adventurous and unconventional enough to break out on her own.

70
SPIN

Her collage of pop dreams, electro flash, and diary-rage lyrics could very well create a new generation of pop stars, one in which being a weirdo is a necessity.

70
FACT Magazine

Love, lust and longing are chronicled and dissected in True Romance through online relationships being gradually given tangible, tactile form, setting Charli up as a young pop star to be reckoned with.

70
DIY

She has the ability to carve out some gorgeous pop songs, but seems to be trying to cover too many bases. 

70
PopMatters

She’s the fun pop you don’t have to be embarrassed about listening to, and she’s definitely worth focusing your attention. True Romance is certainly the true beginning of an illustrious career.

70
Rolling Stone

True Romance is the pop-album equivalent of a wicked Tumblr.

67
Pretty Much Amazing

Charlotte Aitchinson has an outstanding talent for melody and a durable vocal delivery. For now her ability seems to end there.

60
NME

At the moment, her music is best consumed in blog-sized chunks, not as a stodgy 48-minute album. 

60
Consequence of Sound

True Romance is a valiant attempt that doesn’t do much more than provide the soundtrack for “getting ready to go out” songs on tinny laptop speakers.

60
musicOMH

There’s much to enjoy on True Romance, although it’s probably best sampled in small doses as it doesn’t hang together that successfully over the course of an album.

55
Spectrum Culture

True Romance is a case of its variety and diversity hurting the album’s overall cohesiveness. After such a strong start, Charli proves she can make the kind of music that inspires strutting and stunting like nobody else in the murky indie-pop world.

50
Slant Magazine

While a few slivers of genuine spontaneity can be found throughout True Romance, particularly in the watery K-pop-esque opus "Nuclear Seasons," the sum as a whole feels rather forced.

30
The Needle Drop

Honestly, True Romance didn't offer me much that felt romantic or true. Aside from a few well-written and produced singles, this album mostly dishes out cookie cutter electropop with very little flair.

Case
70

CHARLI XCX’S DISCOGRAPHY DIVE #1

Charli XCX is an artist whose back catalog I’ve always wanted to get into, but I just never have. I’ve heard her big singles, and her projects Charli and How I’m Feeling Now, and I’ve also really enjoyed the singles for the new album. So, with CRASH coming out at the end of the week, I decided to go through her discography and hear her projects for the first time, starting with her debut “True Romance”.

While this ... read more

truerowance
95

Tumblr represented in form of an wonderful and beautiful album.

TurbulenceSSB
77

Charli XCX's debut album, True Romance, is an interesting start for the British pop star, as she brings together elements of contemporary dance pop and synthpop onto more alternative/experimental pallettes through incorporations of alternative R&B, electro house, witch house, pop rap, and more, as Charli talks a lot on past relationships and overall love life, to overall solid success.

It's quite interesting being more familiar with Charli's newer works and hearing that there were glimpses ... read more

_V33_
50

Starts ok
Middle half is actually gets kinda good
Then falls of at the end for some reason

jsjmmc
67

after grins it kinda falls off but i enjoyed this way more than i thought i would

BasedFizz
53

As a fan of Charli's work it was only a matter of time for me to go back and listen to her first two records. I will say I was not expecting to be as dis-favorable towards this project as I was but this project just has everything there is to dislike about 2013's pop music somewhere inside it. Coming out of Highschool at this time I was sorely bombarded with this era of pop all the time and it definitely soured my taste on the genre for a while. With that being said, there are still some good ... read more

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Track List

1Nuclear Seasons
4:41
84
2You (Ha Ha Ha)
3:06
81
3Take My Hand
4:26
78
4Stay Away
3:47
80
5Set Me Free (Feel My Pain)
3:53
79
6Grins
3:52
75
7So Far Away
3:21
77
8Cloud Aura
2:44
68
9What I Like
3:01
75
10Black Roses
3:28
76
11You're the One
3:15
76
12How Can I
3:55
70
13Lock You Up
3:31
77
Total Length: 47 minutes

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Added on: February 26, 2013