Charli XCX has revealed a dramatic musical pivot for her upcoming eighth studio album, moving away from the electronic sound that defined her career-making "Brat" era and embracing rock music instead.
In a new interview with Vogue, the pop innovator declared, "The dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music." She explained that after the global phenomenon of "Brat"—which sparked the "Brat summer" craze, headlined major festivals worldwide, and inspired her mockumentary The Moment—she felt compelled to explore new sonic territory.
"If I’d made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad," Charli told the magazine. "What’s interesting for me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on that could be."
The singer, who recently composed the score for Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights adaptation and released a companion album for the film, previewed unreleased material during the interview. The new songs feature prominent electric guitar riffs, marking a stark departure from her signature synth-pop sound.
Charli revealed she traveled to Paris to work on the album, drawn to the city's "hectic, rich" atmosphere for creative inspiration. She cited "being out in the world at night" as a key influence on the new direction, while emphasizing her determination to avoid creating "Brat 2.0."
"It's fun to flip the form. We know there’s gonna be people who are bothered by it, but that’s fine," she said about the genre shift.
The announcement comes as Charli continues to expand her artistic reach beyond music, having successfully ventured into film scoring while maintaining her status as one of pop's most forward-thinking voices. Her rock-inspired eighth album promises to challenge expectations and continue her evolution as an artist unafraid to reinvent herself.