Album Review: Charli - Charli XCX

2019 continues to prove itself as the year of the successful female pop star. We’ve already been offered stellar albums from Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and Lana Del Rey this year, and to keep that trend continuing, Charli XCX has provided another wonderful project in her album Charli. Utilizing the available design of the pop genre that has become so squeaky clean and radio-friendly, Charli XCX introduces her newly refined and experimental sound that differentiates this album and puts it above a lot of the pop music being released lately.

The record’s opening track “Next Level Charli” is aptly named as it sets the stage for the rest of the tracks yet to come. Listening to this album feels like peeking around the corner and getting a sample of what pop music will sound like in the year 2099. Charli XCX has clearly gained notoriety from her previous works, as the tracklisting features many recognizable names such as Troye Sivan, Haim, Lizzo, and many others, whose presence on this project doesn’t seem like a stream grab or last ditch attempt to save a project. This project doesn’t need saving - its production is next level, its tunes are catchy, and its experimentation is next level.

Some of the deep cuts on this project are what make it so enjoyable for me. The otherworldly and somewhat abrasive ending to “Click”, the dizzying effects paired with standout features on “I Shake It”, and the somewhat robotic vocals found throughout (“Official”, for example) this project are incredibly refreshing. The hits of this project such as “1999” and “Blame It On Your Love (feat. Lizzo)” make it good, but the experimentation makes it great.

Some of the tracks don’t really have an effect on me. That isn’t to say they’re objectively bad, but just lacking in one way or another. “Warm”, for example, seems strangely safe for a project that is taking so many creative risks. Little tweaks here and there could’ve made this project even better, but I’m certainly not disappointed in what this album has to offer.

If you’re a fan of pop music and enjoy experimental music, this is the project for you. Charli XCX delivers pop bops and toys with the genre in a way that makes me excited to be alive to watch pop music take the next step toward the future. Great stuff.

Favorite Tracks: “Next Level Charli”, “1999”, “Official”

SCORE: 9/10

Album Review: Hollywood's Bleeding - Post Malone

Post Malone has returned after the release of his two critically-acclaimed and highly-streamed albums Stoney and beerbongs & bentleys. His newest project, Hollywood’s Bleeding, promoted its release with multiple successful and impressive singles. Unfortunately, besides a couple of impressive feature tracks, this album disappointed me generally and is my least favorite from Malone’s discography. The highs are sky high here, but the lows are much worse than the standard of quality Post has set for himself.

Let’s start with the positives: every single released in preparation for this album was excellent. “Circles”, “Sunflower (ft. Swae Lee)”, “Goodbyes (ft. Young Thug)” and “Wow.” are some of the best tracks Post Malone has released in years. The featured tracks that succeed here could have gone very wrong, for example pairing Travis Scott with Ozzy Osbourne (“Take What You Want”) or Future with Halsey (“Die For Me”), but these pairings along with Malone’s presence lead to very successful tracks. The opening track, “Hollywood’s Bleeding”, sets the mood for things to come, and “Myself” was partially written by Josh Tillman, so of course I loved it. As previously stated, the highs are high on this album.

But the lows are low. It seems like Post Malone is embracing the role of being a pop star, which is fine, but some of the musical risks he takes because of that on this project are questionable. The lyrics on “Saint Tropez” and “Enemies” leave a lot to be desired. Both SZA’s and Meek Mill’s features are subpar to me and both artists feel underutilized. “Allergic” is Paramore-esque, but in all the worst ways. The lows are as low as the highs are high on this album.

I feel about this album how I feel about the rest of Post Malone’s discography. I absolutely love some of what he has to offer, and the rest is mediocre at best. I expect this album to enjoy commercial success and to break streaming records, and I’m glad it provided a lot of good songs to add to my ‘Best of… Post Malone’ (more coming about that soon) playlist on Spotify. Hopefully his next project is more refined and is less of a roller coaster than this one.

SCORE: 5/10