Does Charli XCX’s retooled ‘Brat’ break the remix album curse?

Brat summer is over, but the hedonistic lime green pleasures behind Charli XCX’s culture-shifting album persist…

Today is the release of ‘Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat’, a remix double album that sees the British pop star revisit her 2024 release with a panoply of A-listers like Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, Lorde, Troye Sivan, Robyn, and many more.

Much in the same way I rolled my eyes when a deluxe edition previously dropped, titled ‘Brat And It’s The Same But There’s Three More Songs So It’s Not’, the idea of a third iteration made me cringe so hard I momentarily had abs.

There’s already been a re-release, which plays into one of the things I hate the most about zeitgeist-capturing LPs: it sees greedy record labels jump the shark and pummel fans with more editions to get consumers parting with more of their hard-earned cash because they really want those three extra songs that should’ve made the initial cut of the album in the sodding first place.

As much as I loved the club vibe of ‘Brat 1.0’ (as I’ve now had to rechristen it considering the growing amount of versions released) and was impressed at how it suddenly became a cultural cornerstone which managed to encompass a collective vibe shift, I couldn’t help but get judgy for this new and excessive marketing nonsense. It feels insincere and shamelessly tactical.

Plus, I’ve always been wary of remix albums. Not that I necessarily adhere to the strict yet romantic rule that the original mix is the best one. See: Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)’ for proof that an original cut can be surpassed. However, for me, full remix LPs feel like commercial opportunistism rather than artistic endeavours, a profit-oriented calculation that retools great songs into pale imitations which alter the emotional impact of the music.

Granted, there are exceptions to every rule, anomalies which actually have artistic merit and make it fun to hear a new take on the album. I can count them on the fingers of one hand.

Massive Attack vs Mad Professor’s ‘No Protection’; The B-52’s ‘Party Mix!’; Philip Glass’ ‘Rework’; Aphex Twin’s cheekily titled and point-proving ‘26 Mixes for Cash’; and Björk’s ‘Telegram’ (to a point)… All these bucked the trend. And before anyone starts having a go, Madlib’s ‘Shades of Blue’, Danger Mouse’s ‘The Grey Album’ and Jay-Z/Linkin Park’s ‘Collison Course’ don’t count. The first two saw one artist remix another’s work, while the third was a collaborative EP that absolutely slaps.

These examples aside, I’m happy to lump all the other remix albums in the hastily cobbled together / capitalistic gimmick category.

This brings us back to Charli XCX. I assure you that I’m keeping an open mind. I already really enjoy the new ‘Guess’ featuring Billie Eilish. Perhaps I’ll have to start using both hands to count the remix albums that are worthy additions to artists’ discographies, and this will be the victory lap Charli deserves following her commercial and cultural juggernaut?

I hope that’s the case and not the cynical cash grab I’m fearing. I’m off to listen to it now. I leave you in the safe hands of my colleague Jonny, who’s been giving ‘Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat’ a few spins and shares his take.

Grumpy David, out.

And Jonny in!  

When I wrote the review for Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ way back in June, there was a moment – felt by many music journalists – that I felt certain about the album’s imminent cultural influence. It was the perfect combination of the zeitgeist with genuinely engaging party anthems. ‘Brat’ was always going to be the album of the summer. It’s been the album of my summer for sure. My lungs can attest to that. At Manchester Pride this year, a friend and I kept a tally on who got played more, XCX or Chappell Roan, the other artist du jour. 

Interestingly though, in all the many clubs I’ve heard ‘Brat’ songs played in, they are rarely altered. DJs wholesale recognised the immediacy of tracks like ‘365’ and ‘Von Dutch’ for their dance floor capability. They didn’t need minimal house remixes, they were ready made for pleasure. 

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By that logic, a remix album by Charli XCX herself doesn’t seem all that necessary. When album of the year lists come around, I know already I’ll be making my case for ‘Brat’ at the top spot. This leaves one question. Does ‘Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat’ represent a genuine evolution and growth on the original, or is it a cynical cash grab?

In many ways, it’s neither.

Rarely have the beats been changed to make them more propulsive. XCX leans more on just adding reverb to wash out the tracks than combining them with the techno beats the rave-inspired album brilliantly utilised. ‘Von Dutch’, the album’s most aggressive single is remixed by long-time production collaborator A.G. Cook with additional vocals by saccharine TikTok popstar Addisone Rae. The effect neutralised any of the venom from the original.

That’s not what XCX is going for though. This isn’t a remix album in the traditional sense. It’s an opportunity to collaborate with artists to create a new spin on these songs. Myriad artists feature here, from obvious choices like Lorde and Troye Sivan, to huge pop names like Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish, to the genuinely surprising such as Julian Cassablancas and Robyn.

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The songs fall into one of three categories: club-focused remixes, alternative versions brandishing the feature, and stripped back retoolings.

On ‘Club Classics’, she interpolates the original version of ‘365’, an ironic shoutout to her own credentials while simultaneously removing the song’s verve for an overbearing beat. It’s the closest to a traditional remix, which is refreshing, but simply doesn’t make for anything massively notable.

A better example of the remix style is ‘Talk Talk’. Troye Sivan, who XCX is currently touring on shared bills with, features. Sivan’s queer pop perfectly fuses with XCX’s ‘Brat’ aesthetic and this song feels like a genuine duet between their two styles to make one of the original album’s weaker tracks a strength.

‘Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat’ borders on dull when on tracks that serve only to show off the status of who XCX can get in the studio. Ariana Grande adds nothing to ‘Sympathy Is A Knife’, as her verse discusses punishment through the limited lens of vanity while the track’s new higher energy detracts from its once truly biting lyrics.

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On the other hand, tracks like ‘Everything Is Romantic’ doesn’t necessarily need Caroline Polachek’s inclusion, but her addition with cheeky lines like “Free bleeding in the autumn rain” winking at the original and Polachek’s iconic warble manage to elevate it to a new height.

As a fan of the quieter tracks on ‘Brat’ some of the most refreshing moments are when XCX doubles down on shying away from traditional remixes. ‘I Might Say Something’ was always a reflective slow burn, but that’s been taken to the max with Jon Hopkins’s neo-classical minimalist approach. The 1975’s Matty Healy bringing a verse that has his trademark toilet humour / earnestness fits into the dayglo hangover feeling as the pair ponder their anxieties. If nothing else, XCX has achieved the impossible and made Healy not insufferable.

It’s only at the end of the album that we get the sort of EDM inflections that a traditional remix album desires. The Shygirl inclusion doesn’t actually improve ‘365’ and leaves the original’s closer a little less bold despite its deeper bass. It’s not the finale anymore though. Now it’s bonus track ‘Guess’ with Billie Eilish in tow. Eilish adds a salubrious tone to the track that benefits the deep throb of the new bassline to end the album with a sense of gravitas. As Eilish seductively responds to XCX’s vocals, you’re brought into a world of glorious sapphic decadence.

If only the whole album were this good.

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‘Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat’ is out now.