Charli xcx Lets the Dance Floor Die on Music, Fashion, Film

Daniel Corretjer Rios

Writer

July 26, 2026

After BRAT, Charli xcx became a fully realized cultural icon and phenomenon. The obvious move would have been to replicate that success by doing it all again, right? She didn't. Music, Fashion, Film is a deliberate shift in artistic direction, swapping synths and 808s for guitar riffs, shoegaze, and vulnerability that's more exposed than performed. The album's opening track and lead single, "Rock Music," says it perfectly. Over heavily distorted guitars and live acoustic drums, Charli declares, "the dance floor is dead."

"SS26" is the album's first real stumble. It's a decent pop song, and the darker production fits the record's artistic direction, but the instrumentation feels surprisingly thin, with barely any layers to support it. After the punch of the opener, the dip in energy is immediately noticeable.

Thankfully, "Camera" quickly regains that momentum and stands as one of the album's strongest moments. The chopped-up guitar work sets the tone, while the song delivers some of Charli's most introspective writing. As listeners watch her pick apart both her identity and sense of purpose, she pairs those reflections with a melancholic vocal performance that perfectly matches the album's uncertainty.

The following track, "2007," is where Charli fully showcases her creative ambition. The production is otherworldly, filled with disorienting, distorted vocal chops and warped guitar riffs. Although the lyrics are repetitive, the repetition feels intentional rather than lazy. The song isn't trying to tell a story. It's trying to create a feeling, and at that, it succeeds.

"I'm Afraid" is the album's emotional centerpiece, leaving listeners devastated. It opens with acoustic guitar and cello, both carrying an old, worn atmosphere, before Charli delivers a vocal performance drenched in anguish. She isn't really singing so much as journaling out loud. She walks through old memories, and the further back she goes, the harsher her self-criticism becomes. That tension eventually erupts into a shoegaze-drenched chorus that lands with enormous emotional weight. It's the clearest look at what's beneath the polished exterior of one of pop's biggest stars.

"Wink Wink" is the album's standout and possibly the best pop song of the year. The punk-rock influences sit naturally alongside Charli's pop instincts, the chorus is driven by killer synth work, and the hook is relentlessly catchy. It feels tailor-made for radio. But what elevates the song beyond being an easy hit is its writing. Here, Charli is at her most self-aware, examining the judgment that's been cast on her while making it clear she's at peace with the life she's chosen. She was never asking for approval. She's perfectly okay with not living her life the "right" way.

Charli xcx - No One Lasts Forever featuring David Cronenberg

The closer, "No One Lasts Forever," featuring acclaimed director David Cronenberg, gently brings the album to a close. Cronenberg delivers a spoken-word monologue about the freedom found in oblivion, reflecting on the idea that nothing and no one endures.

"They are dead, they are gone, they are not experiencing that. 

These are true things, and thank goodness for them.

 I—I—I really feel, um, and you hear me assuring you that oblivion is freedom."

Even the art that outlives its creators will eventually disappear. It's a beautiful note to end on, bringing peace to an album filled with anxiety, self-examination, and questions of identity. Hearing the album close with a repetition of Cronenberg's monologue, "They are dead, they are gone, no one lasts forever," leaves one final thought: If nothing lasts forever, why worry so much about the present?

Music, Fashion, Film is not BRAT, nor was it ever trying to be. Instead, it's a shorter, more vulnerable record from an artist who spent the last two years as one of pop's biggest cultural figures and is now sitting with the questions that come with that success. Once again, Charli xcx proves she's one of the best artists working today at reinventing her craft.