NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� When released the barely two-minute, glitched-out 鈥淩ock Music,鈥� the first single from 鈥淢usic, Fashion, Film,鈥� she was almost immediately labeled a provocateur.
The song, with its hyperpop affectations and cheeky, lyrical dedication to craft 鈥� 鈥淚 think the dance floor is dead/So now we鈥檙e making rock music鈥� 鈥� confused and confounded. Was she trolling? Was she being sincere? Was the entire record going to be made up of power chords? Was worthy of
No answers can be found on 鈥淢usic, Fashion, Film.鈥� It’s up for the listener to decide. What is present are 11 alternative, genre-averse songs with winking rock 鈥檔鈥� roll instrumentation, preoccupied by artmaking and ego. And what is clear is that Charli xcx and her dedicated team, the co-producers and songwriters A.G. Cook and Finn Keane, have a coherent collaborative vision 鈥� just like a band might.
Conceptually, at the top of its hedonism, connected the club to a panic attack or, at the very least, a diary page, with its unwavering dedication to lyrical vulnerability. 鈥淢usic, Fashion, Film鈥� meets those same depths, but now with anxieties focusing primarily on fame, creativity and performance. (In that way, the song 鈥淩ewind鈥� from 鈥淏RAT鈥� might鈥檝e been the greatest indication of what was to come. 鈥淲onderin鈥� 鈥檅out whether I think I deserve commercial success,鈥� she sang.)
Reputation and perception have always mattered deeply to Charli xcx. On 鈥淢usic, Fashion, Film鈥� they still do 鈥� just not as much as her many thoughts on what it means to be an artist 鈥� delivered with distortion and humor throughout.
The apathetic spoken-word sections on 鈥淢usic, Fashion, Film鈥� feel closer to the moody influence of than the dance floor when placed atop fuzzed-out guitars, like on the standout, crushed and choppy 鈥淐ard Declined.鈥�
鈥�2007,鈥� avoids vapidity atop power chords that play out like someone learning pop-punk covers for the first time, and sets a notable undercurrent for the album: The instrumentation is repeatable, often valuing rhythm-driven minimalism and alternative tunings, the sound of an early musical love.
The production is another story. Complications abound, like in the unexpected tempo change found in the charming post-rock 鈥淢agic Metal Montana,鈥� a platonic love song written for Cook.
The catchy chorus of chords and drum machine on 鈥淪S26鈥� doesn’t have some of the rhythm of songs that offer a guitar-drums-bass reprieve, like 鈥淵eah鈥� and 鈥淲ink Wink.鈥� But its distinct lack of the undeniable is welcomed.
If Charli xcx is looking to find ways for reinvention, she’s found a few, like in the loose and reverberating 鈥淚’m Afraid.鈥� That one will invariably inspire lyrical comparisons to Meredith Brooks’ 1997 hit 鈥淏—-,鈥� though Charli xcx approaches self-flagellation where Brooks turns criticism into a weapon. But that’s a distraction from its charms: loose bass, a claustrophobic chorus, a post-grunge exorcism.
The 2026 may have foreshadowed 鈥淢usic, Fashion, Film.鈥� The movie is a document of what happens after celebrity ambitions are realized. It isn鈥檛 a partner piece to this album, but there鈥檚 a shared ideology: Both are an illumination of what it is to be Charli xcx without the self-hagiography of an artist-produced documentary. Both are funny. Both are imbued with verisimilitude, while portraying a persona approximating her truth. And, ultimately, both are a bit dizzying.
Here and throughout her career, Charli xcx has existed at a crossroads, a cult-classic artist with pop-star recognition. 鈥淢usic, Fashion, Film鈥� is yet another evolution in that teetering identity, a big swing if one that may go underappreciated by newer fans. And if that’s the case, that’s a disappointment: Here and elsewhere, she remains one of the current moment’s most interesting pop contrarians.
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鈥淢usic, Fashion, Film鈥� by Charli xcx
Three and a half stars out of five.
On repeat: 鈥淐ard Declined,鈥� 鈥淢agic Metal Montana,鈥� 鈥淲ink Wink鈥�
Skip it: 鈥淧ersona,鈥� 鈥淩ock Music鈥�
For fans of: Loops, 鈥淰ideodrome,鈥� kitten heels
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