What to Expect From Charli XCX’s Brat Remix Album
No more skimming X for green billboards and getting duped by stan accounts with basic Photoshop skills. After much speculation about the featured guests on the Brat remix album, Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat, the official tracklist has finally landed. On Sunday, Charli XCX handed a crinkled copy of the tracklist to a fan at her Sweat Tour concert in Orlando and asked them to post it online; she later confirmed the lineup with her own photo. Almost all of the remixes she’s already released — including “girl, so confusing” featuring Lorde, “guess” featuring Billie Eilish, “360” featuring Yung Lean and Robyn, and “Talk Talk” featuring Troye Sivan (with a surprise appearance by Dua Lipa) — will be on the album. My condolences to dubstep producers Skream and Benga, whose forgotten “von dutch” remix has been edged out by Addison Rae’s.
Below, we’re breaking down what to expect from the newly announced remix roster, track by track.
“Club Classics” Feat. BB Trickz
Guess Rosalía was busy? Instead we have Bb trickz, a Spanish drill rapper whose initial gambit was being like the Ice Spice of Barcelona; she’s since moved onto dembow. Personally, I’m surprised to see such a Eurocentric roster. It seems like a missed opportunity. Still, a dembow or reggaeton version of “Club Classics” would be sick.
“Sympathy Is a Knife” Feat. Ariana Grande
Ariana’s presence is exciting, not just because she’s a big get but because she also might spill some gossip. Fingers crossed for a SpongeBob reference.
“I Might Say Something Stupid” Feat. the 1975 & Jon Hopkins
Who better to have on a track called “I did something stupid” than Matty Healy, loosey-goosey rock star who is constantly running his mouth? It’s inevitable that the 1975 would feature on the remix album, given that their drummer, George Daniel, is Charli’s fiancé. But what’s up with the inclusion of Jon Hopkins, the very-not-Zeitgeisty British composer-producer whose spacey music is better suited for insomniac evenings in bed instead of at the club? This brings me to my biggest quibble with the remix album: too many men who are Not Brat.
“Everything Is Romantic” Feat. Caroline Polachek
Rejoice! Though some of Charli’s usual gang is missing from the remix album — EASYFUN, Christine and the Queens — her close friend and fellow pop visionary Caroline Polachek is here. Be prepared for jaw-dropping, operatic vocals.
“Rewind” Feat. Bladee
I know that some male-manipulator Discord guys are probably losing their minds at this news, but … yawn? As far as doomer Swedes go, we’ve already got Yung Lean on the album. This would have been the perfect song for Kesha, or like, the Black Eyed Peas.
“So I” Feat. A.G. Cook
I was hoping for Vince Staples, but A.G. Cook is also a natural fit for this tender SOPHIE tribute, given that the P.C. Music boss was one of her longtime collaborators. (Read his beautiful tribute to SOPHIE here.) He’s usually hidden in the production credits, so it’s interesting to see him as a featured guest — I hope this means he’s singing?
“Apple” Feat. the Japanese House
The Japanese House, or Amber Bain, is a pop singer-songwriter and 1975 affiliate, which explains her involvement here. I like her music but have a hard time imagining what she’ll add to “Apple”; she’s not a particularly striking vocalist. You know who’d be interesting? Rina Sawayama, who tackled generational trauma on her album Hold the Girl and whose friendship status with Charli is ambiguous. It’d be like “girl, so confusing” pt. 2.
“B2b” Feat. Tinashe
This link-up between underappreciated pop girls who’ve been grinding in the music industry for a decade just feels right.
“Mean Girls” Feat. Julian Casablancas
For this song about morally decrepit New York podcaster-socialite Dasha Nesrakova, Charli enlists another downtown scenester from the days of yore. We get it: Indie sleaze is back, blah blah blah. Nothing says “bumpin that” like a 46-year-old nepo baby.
“I Think About It All the Time” Feat. Bon Iver
Is there some affirmative-action program for white guys in pop? Why are the industry’s biggest stars always calling up Post Malone or Bon Iver? Bon Iver — also known as Justin Vernon — will deliver a serviceable verse with some pretty Auto-Tune. But I can’t help but think this remix would be better as a dialogue between women about the complications of balancing work and children. Perhaps Lily Allen, who’s said that she had children for “all the wrong reasons” and that it “totally ruined [her] music career”?
“365” Feat. Shygirl
All I have to say here is thank God.
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