Charli XCX previewed her new remix album, « Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat, » at Storm King Art Center in upstate New York.
« We’re fine art bitches now! »
Such is how Charli XCX welcomed a throng of reporters, influencers, and loyal fans to Storm King Art Center on Thursday, a sprawling landscape in upstate New York that’s dotted with ambitious, large-scale art installations. Newly chief among them: A lime green square with a wordy album title, printed backward.
We were there to celebrate « Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat », a remixed version of, you guessed it, « Brat », Charli’s sixth studio album and bonafide phenomenon.
Nestled among the rolling hills and fall foliage, Charli’s team had commissioned a 30-foot by 30-foot replica of a halfway-open gatefold cover. When she arrived around 4:30 p.m., Charli stood in the folded crease atop a DJ booth, looking strangely at home with her fur accents and signature black sunnies.
« Just wanted to get you in this really convenient location to play you some songs from the album », Charli announced, poking fun at the multi-hour trip from the city to Hudson Valley.
Indeed, for this event, inconvenience was the whole point.
Since the June arrival of « Brat », the album has maintained an impressive grip on the public’s imagination, a marketing coup so successful and widespread that it earned its own era-defining shorthand: « Brat summer. » Charli’s bold, idiosyncratic music has enchanted even the stingiest critics, including self-described music nerds, Pitchfork reviewers, and presidential candidates. She has posed for buzzy magazine covers and created viral moments with the flick of her finger.
Most recently, Charli has been traversing the country with Troye Sivan for their Sweat Tour, commanding arena-sized crowds with a mix of commercial hits (« I Love It », Charli’s 2012 duet with Icona Pop; « Speed Drive », her contribution to last year’s « Barbie » soundtrack) and club classics from her latest album (« Apple », which spawned a TikTok trend; « 365 », which landed on Barack Obama’s yearly playlist).
