Instead of chasing the cultural high of 'Brat', Charli xcx does something far more interesting on 'Music, Fashion, Film': she dismantles it.

"I think for me as an artist, it would be extremely uninspiring to attempt to recreate what Brat was", Charli tells Rolling Stone.

Released in 2024, Brat became more than an album. It became synonymous with a party girl aesthetic, a meme, and a shorthand for a particular strain of internet-age cool. What was once an unassuming hue, a particular shade of lime green, (#8ACE00 to be exact), became an emblem of Charli, signifying her presence even in the absence of any accompanying imagery, branding, or typography.

Instead of chasing that cultural high of Brat, Charli xcx does something far more interesting on Music, Fashion, Film: she dismantles it. 

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Charli declares, "All of my albums work in opposites. They repel against each other, and that's the connective tissue." Charli pivots from the club/party maximalism of Brat and leans into a more self-reflective interrogation of what it means to be a celebrity on Music, Fashion, Film. She dances on the line of reality and satire, often leaving the listener to discern if she's being sincere or not. Rather than offering definitive answers, Music, Fashion, Film thrives in the ambiguity, making uncertainty its most compelling statement.

Music, Fashion, Film photo: Aidan Zamiri

The album’s title reads less like a list and more like a thesis statement. The cover art features three icons of culture, John Cale, Marc Jacobs, and Martin Scorsese, each representing a pillar of culture the album's title refers to. Captured by photographer Aidan Zamiri, John Cale, a founding member of The Velvet Underground; Marc Jacobs, fashion powerhouse; and Martin Scorsese, legendary director and filmmaker, are gathered together in an unassuming kitchen, juxtaposing the extraordinary cultural weight of its subjects in an ordinary, domestic setting. Together, they position Music, Fashion, Film not simply as another pop album, but as a conversation with the broader cultural institutions that shape our art and society itself today. 

Sonically, Music, Fashion, Film feels deliberately unfinished. The album is a short thirty minutes, but it is just enough to make its mark. Distorted guitars play with and against hyper pop production. Choruses arrive only to disappear, and songs often end before they satisfy. The production itself seems to lean into a broader statement, process over product. The tracks aren’t unfinished; rather, they an embrace of imperfection. Those hoping for another collection of club anthems might find themselves straying away. And that might be precisely the point Charli is trying to make. 

Each track seems to examine a different lens of stardom, constructing a gestalt portrait of celebrity assembled through fragmented moments of confession, satire, and performance. She directly confronts her desire to break beyond the boundaries of music and her desire to expand into film, on track four, ‘Camera’. Charli pens, “Do I wanna make music? Am I being f****** stupid if I try to be a girl on the screen when I’m turning thirty-four? But all I know is how it makes me feel.” The lyrics capture the central tension of Music, Fashion, Film and weigh the fear of reinvention against the instinct to create as much art as you are capable of. 

Charli has recently explored acting and filmmaking as a medium, notably producing and starring in the 2026 release, The Moment, which functions as a satirical tour ‘mockumentary’ centered around her Brat era, and parodies the sensationalism that surrounded the album. It seemed to be a direct response to fans desire for her to continue along the same commercial avenue. Themes explored in the film: performance, self-mythology, and the ever-blurring line between spectacle and sincerity, echo the sentiments conveyed in Music, Fashion, Film. Both seem to examine what happens when the artist becomes a product, and the price of fame at the expense of authenticity. 

The album is produced by Charli’s longtime collaborator and close friend, A.G. Cook. The pair is often recognized as carving a path for modern hyperpop together, notably alongside late producer and artist, SOPHIE (Sophie Xeon). The penultimate track of the album, ‘Magic Metal Montana’ serves as an ode to the creative partnership Charli and A.G. Cook share. She gives way to their dynamic, “You’re my best friend but we don’t talk. We make music, we talk that way”. Charli continues on in a vulnerable declaration, “I’d cry if you died”, which some believe references SOPHIE’s passing, and the loss the two shared together. The song becomes more than a celebration of collaboration, but reinforces the album’s broader exploration of identity; that it is not created in isolation, but shaped through the people, experiences, and connections one has.

The final song brings the album full circle. Distinguished by its second-half feature by legendary horror filmmaker David Cronenberg, the track offers a final reflection of stardom and artistry in the grand scheme of life. The monologue serves as a striking conclusion to Music, Fashion, Film, challenging the idea of legacy that drives so much of celebrity, (and personal), culture. Cronenberg’s reflection strips the idea of image and performance down to the most human foundation. Art might outlive its creator, but the experience of creating it is ultimately temporary. Artistry is not found in permanence or recognition, but in the human relationships and emotions that created it in the first place. 

Seemingly clipped from a conversation between Cronenberg and Charli, the filmmaker describes what one can believe references a near-death experience: 

“As I was lying there on the sidewalk, I did not think about art at all. I thought about people, I thought about life…

I wasn’t thinking about art as immortality… it can turn out that, yes, some artists have created art that has really survived thousands of years, and that’s fantastic, but experientially for them… they are dead, they are gone, no one lasts forever.”

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Listen to ‘Music, Fashion, Film’ on all streaming platforms, and check out three newly released b-sides, “I Keep on Thinking Bout You Every Single Day and Night”, “Playboy Bunny”, and “If You Take Away the Music Then What Has She Got?” available exclusively on iTunes. Catch Charli on her ‘Music, Fashion, Film Tour’ (hopefully) coming to a city near you.