‘Music, Fashion, Film’ by Charli XCX
★★★
“If you can get over the fact that it’s not Brat 2.0,” said Lindsay Zoladz in The New York Times, you might grow to appreciate the “proudly prickly, satisfyingly scuzzy” new album by Charli XCX. Unlike the 2024 smash that catapulted the British pop artist, at 31, from cult favorite to megastar, this eighth album “embraces, even glorifies, the slapdash.” Instead of hyper-burnished club anthems, we get sub-three-minute tracks anchored by hiccuping, glitchy guitar riffs and layered with electropop flourishes. Beyond the guitars themselves, “there’s rock ’n’ roll attitude to the quick ’n’ dirty concision of these songs,” said Carl Wilson in Slate. Seeking to avoid making any big statements, Charli has made a record that’s “much better heard as a whole” than highlight by highlight, in part because “the labor here is in the microscopic details,” the way Charli’s longtime collaborators A.G. Cook and Finn Keane are “constantly mutating the timbres and textures of sounds.” The album, in the end, “neither takes itself too seriously nor insists too hard on its jokes.” More importantly, it “reminds her and us that she’s just always had a great time making music with her friends.”
‘Reality Awaits’ by The Strokes
★★
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The Strokes’ seventh album turns out to be “occasionally bizarre, consistently engaging, and often spectacular,” said Ryan Reed in Paste. The quintet that turned New York City into an epicenter of post-punk rock circa 2001 has teamed again with celebrity producer Rick Rubin, and the result is “a far weirder and more challenging listen” than 2020’s The New Abnormal, but “that’s largely for the better.” On the single “Going Shopping,” Julian Casablancas’ vocals are distorted by “gloopy pitch-correction” as he sings about wanting to be a 7-foot zombie over “galloping art-punk guitars.” Such uses of AutoTune have made some Strokes fans furious, but not me, said Danielle Chelosky in Stereogum. “Sure, Casablancas sounds like a malfunctioning robot,” but the worst thing about “Going Shopping” and the second advance single was “how utterly forgettable they were.” The album contains some gems, including “Dine N’Dash,” one of the band’s “most perfect slices of polished, clean indie rock.” While there’s “no shortage of duds” on Reality Awaits, there’s much to love, and “the Strokes wouldn’t be as interesting if everything they touched was gold.”
‘A*Pop’ by Tyla
★★★
At 24, Tyla is “stepping out as a new type of music star from Africa,” said Wale Oloworekende in Fader. Three years after scoring a global hit with the Grammy-winning “Water,” the Johannesburg native has titled her sophomore album to announce her intent to be the It girl of Afro-pop, one who, through her choice of featured guests, is “bringing her community along with her for the ride.” Despite all the bravado, and even though the log drums common to South African amapiano are a constant presence, “much of A*Pop is still primarily derivative of R&B.” While Tyla “has achieved a new high for African music,” the record should have leaned harder into South African house and soul. Still, it’s an impressive showing, said Michael Cragg in The Guardian. Like Barbadian star Rihanna before her, “Tyla is able to nimbly traverse genres and reference points thanks to a characterful voice that suits every mood.” She can give a song “the full-belt treatment” or relax and ride a lithe shuffle beat as if on a pool float with a cocktail in hand. A*Pop includes a few throwaways, but “as a bold statement of intent, it’s close to top marks.”
