Charli’s “rock music” era still feels deeply rooted in PC Music to me
I honestly think the funniest thing about this new Charli XCX rollout is that she spent months hinting at “rock music” just for the actual songs to still feel deeply rooted in PC Music aesthetics.
Even with the guitars and dirtier visuals, Rock Music still feels super repetitive, minimal, ironic, and emotionally detached in that specific way a lot of classic PC Music releases did. It doesn’t feel like she abandoned that sound at all. If anything, it feels like she’s stripping it down even further.
What feels different is the mood around the rollout itself. The whole “b.sides” account, the behind-the-scenes posts with A.G. Cook and Finn Keane, the black-and-white visuals, the vinyl-only track she told fans to literally pirate… it all feels weirdly intimate while still being self-aware and performative at the same time.
And honestly I think the second song is the most interesting part so far. The “late bloomer” line and the way she talks about obsession, identity, and confusion feels surprisingly vulnerable for her without ever losing that detached Charli irony.
This whole era feels less like Charli trying to reinvent herself and more like her pulling apart the version of herself that Brat turned into a huge internet character.
I wrote a longer piece about this whole rollout if anyone wants to read more.