She’s glitching, she’s banging her head, she’s tearing drums apart, she’s singing ro-o-o-o-o-o-ck music. Yes, the queen of partying and cigarettes is now delving into new territories with Rock Music, her latest release. And it’s brilliant! But Charli xcx is sending mixed signals: first, she confirms to British Vogue that she’s working on rock music. Later, she claims she never said that. And now, she releases a new song, aptly titled Rock Music that is… well, sort of rock. Charli, what is going on?
Well, she sort of gives it away in the chorus: “I think the dance floor is dead / So now we’re making rock music.” Loud and clear, Charli. However, as much as this is a new sound for her, the themes she tackles are still very much rooted in who she is and what she does. When touring Brat, she spoke openly about how physically demanding that was: she was onstage by herself, entertaining crowds of thousands of people, banging her head, strutting front and back, and raving alone. Rock music is, in a way, a continuation of that: “I’m really banging my head / I’m really hurting my neck / The nerve damage is real,” she sings in this newest release. “But it’s the only way to feel something, hurt yourself.” Again, this idea that pain makes you feel alive, something that many artists have spoken about.
Directed by her friend and collaborator, Aidan Zamiri, the black-and-white music video has this gritty atmosphere we often associate with rock music and rock stars. Chain-smoking, mosh pits, smashing instruments, Charli on the floor entangled with the microphone’s cable as if it were a snake… The images are crude, grainy, and extremely powerful.
After this release, fans are wondering: is this the first sneak peek of a new project? Is she playing a sort of twisted hide-and-seek game? Let’s not forget that, in February, she released the Wuthering Heights album, where she went back to her ‘original’ sound before Brat took over the world. She also released the mockumentary The Moment, and is starring in a couple more films coming out this year, Erupcja by Pete Ohs and I Want Your Sex by Gregg Araki. So, where does she make the time to work so, so much? We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.
