Charli XCX Keeps Churning Out The Hits On ‘Number 1 Angel’
The British singer-songwriter reconnects with the PC Music crew for a vibrant, energetic mixtape.
Charli XCX has fluctuated a lot as an artist. Her debut mixtapes Super Ultra and Heartbreaks And Earthquakes weren’t total knockouts, but they showed she had a knack for picking beats to sing over. From there she moved on to a more straightforward, eighties synth-pop influenced sound that she and producer Ariel Rechtshaid worked together to adapt around on her debut album, True Romance. That sound was further evolved on her sophomore album, Sucker, which also incorporated a more pop punk style as well.
She could’ve easily left her sound as it was from those two albums and progressed as a successful pop artist. She had the hit Boom Clap under her belt, as well as Icona Pop’s I Love It which she famously wrote. She has a rabid fan base, as well as a fair share of haters, enough to keep her in the pop conversation. Not on the level of a Miley Cyrus or Katy Perry, but enough that any new music would continue to make rounds on music blogs as important news.
Instead of following that easy path, she completely jumped ship and fell aboard the PC Music train. For those unfamiliar, PC Music is a electronic record label that has since expanded into a sort of genre itself through pitched up vocals, overly synthetic production, and an overall cyber culture often associated with, though not to be confused with, the vaporwave scene. The sound of PC Music is definitely a polarizing one, with a plethora of haters. I, myself, am a fan of the label, though I understand the criticisms and find myself unable to listen to their music for extended periods of time. It definitely feels like a niche genre and I would be shocked if it truly exploded and became the pop norm. I see it giving way exactly like any other subgenre comes and goes. So the idea to divert her sound this way was definitely puzzling at the time. That being said, her EP Vroom Vroom was a big surprise. With just four songs, the collaboration turned out to be very fruitful. It was a welcome change for the artist, though I believed it would be more of a one-off. This idea seemed to be confirmed when she released the lead single to her upcoming third studio album, the Lil Yachty-featuring track After The Party which seemed to veer back towards her more generic pop sound.
This new mixtape, Number 1 Angel, her first since moving towards official releases, proves that she isn’t entirely done with PC Music, offering an abundance of bright, fun, different tracks produced by PC Music founder/head A.G. Cook, along with PC Music affiliate SOPHIE. It opens with the song Dreamer, an explosive song that some might go so far as to categorize as a rap song, especially since Charli’s vocals borrow heavily from Migos’ infamous flow. The production on the song is a slick take on the regular PC Music sound, a little darker than what we’re used to from the London label. 3AM, another extremely fun song, has big Carly Rae Jepson vibes, but is bouncy enough to not be a total bite. The beat is also familiar to anyone who’s seen SOPHIE’s live work. The familiarity took a little bit of the wind out of it, but it’s still a great instrumental. MØ, who features on the song, pairs well with Charli, not sounding too similar but not directly contrasting her either. She makes the song feel totally different without the production changing at all. Overall, it’s a great little breakup jam.
Blame It On You has solid production, but it’s at a weird pace that’s a little too fast to be sultry and a little too slow to be a dance track. The chorus is also a little generic, reminiscent of her older work that it seemed like she was evolving from. Also, her rap-singing for most of the song reminded me of Chicago-hit maker Jeremih. I didn’t hate it, but I did spend the majority of the song wondering “Who does this sound like?” before landing on him. The beats’ switch to a more heavy sound at the end is a nice change of pace that made the song a little more noteworthy. The track Roll With Me is totally one hundred percent Sophie. If you told me it wasn’t I would make sure he sues whoever did make it for plagiarism. I’d go so far as to call it more of a Sophie song than a Charli song. I’m not complaining about it, but it’s weird when the main artist feels like a featuring artist on their own album.
Emotional is the first song that feels really like old school Charli, though I didn’t really hate it. Sure, there’s over-the-top Chris Martin levels of theatrics and passion, but I can at least say I appreciated the change of pace. I probably would’ve gotten tired anyways if this was a straight up PC Music album like I always do with their music. ILY2 is a better example of a track that blends classic Charli with PC Music. There’s a hard drone like sound underlying the entire song that changes up the overall sweet sounding tone. There’s a lot going on near the end, only becoming overwhelming for a second or two, but it’s still pretty exciting. The song White Roses has the sultriness I wanted from Blame It On You. Besides that though, the song doesn’t really do it for me. It’s a big change in simplicity compared to the rest of the album.
Babygirl is also a big departure from the sound of the rest of the album with some slight chillwave vibes. Charli’s non-singing verses reminded me of the singer/rapper Kitty (fka Kitty Pryde). Uffie’s verse on the song is a little too loud and because of that doesn’t mesh well with the tune. It’s another one that’s just a little too simple, a little too leaning away from her new style. The PC Music style is abrasive, but it fits her well. I suppose it’s, again, a good change of pace, but definitely not my favorite. Drugs keeps the trend going where there’s just not enough going on, it doesn’t stand out. When you can compare the songs to others in the same album and they pale in comparison, it a problem. The drone-like beat, the kick drums, the hi-hats, they’re all too simple and predictable. The editing at the end saves it a bit, but it’s a literal case of too little too late.
Just when I was ready though to write off the album as a strong start and a massively disappointing finish, it finishes off with an explosion of florescence in the form of the song Lipgloss. It’s a track that is full-on PC Music, almost entering the realm of chiptune and bands of the genre like Anamanaguchi. CupcakKe, who features on the song, is perfectly nasty and actually takes up the bulk of the song, though it didn’t rub the wrong way like the song Roll With Me since it’s an actual person rather than just the sound. Charli allocates herself mostly to the chorus, which has proven time and time again to be successful at. The entire track is very fun, very kinetic, and a welcome re-entry into the realm of exciting music.
Every song on the mixtape is one way or another a solid banger. Even the ones I’m not crazy about I still kinda dug and the songs I did like I was super into. It’s just comparatively, the great songs really stand out and make the others feel unworthy of their presence. I feel like this project could’ve easily been another EP, and what an amazing one it would’ve been if it only contained Dreamer, 3AM, ILY2, and Lipgloss. That would be an EP that people would remember, that would be something that would get people excited for the upcoming album. She also could’ve used the more on-par songs as bonus tracks on her album, or used them to replace whatever duds are on it. Instead, they’re just a handful of great tracks stuck between a bunch that are kind of forgettable.
Of course, this is all speculation. Her album could still be spectacular despite this unbalanced lead-up, and I’m actually confident that it will be great. If nothing, at least this mixtape provided us with a handful of stellar songs to enjoy in the meantime.
