Charli XCX has officially made her boldest musical pivot yet, dropping a ferocious new single titled “Rock Music” that marks a dramatic departure from the electronic soundscape that defined her 2024 breakthrough album “Brat.” The release arrives alongside a gritty, mosh-pit-fueled music video that showcases the British pop innovator embracing distortion, crunch, and an unmistakably rebellious spirit.
The creative process behind the track unfolded in real-time collaboration between Charli and her team, with the song and its visual counterpart developing simultaneously in a uniquely organic fashion. In comments shared through her unofficial Instagram account b.sides, the artist explained the symbiotic relationship between audio and visual elements. “The song ideas informed the video, and the video ideas informed the song. Full circle kinda thing,” she revealed, highlighting the interconnected nature of this release.
Charli’s fascination with rock music has been building for some time, with subtle hints dropped throughout recent months. Last month, representatives for the singer confirmed she was putting the finishing touches on her forthcoming album, generating significant anticipation among her devoted fanbase. Shortly after these announcements, Charli herself suggested her next musical chapter would embrace rock influences. In a candid conversation with British Vogue, she made waves by declaring, “I think the dance floor is dead, so now we’re making rock music,” though she later offered clarification that she had not announced a complete rock album.
It turns out those provocative statements were directly drawn from her in-development track “Rock Music,” which finds the “360” singer abandoning the club-centric atmosphere of the “Brat” era in favor of unapologetically gritty guitar work. The lyrics embrace a raw, confessional tone as she describes the dynamic between herself and her closest collaborators. “Me and my friends, we go out/We take pictures and make stuff together/And sometimes we cry/We kiss each other, real incestuous vibes,” she sings, channeling punk rock honesty with characteristic wit.
The accompanying music video amplifies the track’s rebellious energy through a grungy aesthetic that feels like a love letter to alternative rock culture. For this visual project, Charli assembled an unlikely supergroup of collaborators to serve as her backing band, recruiting producer A.G. Cook, Finn Keane—formerly known by the moniker Easyfun—and most notably, her husband George Daniel, drummer for The 1975. The footage captures the group delivering a chaotic, high-energy performance that feels both authentically amateur and thrillingly spontaneous.
The video was helmed by director Aidan Zamiri, the creative force behind Charli’s satirical mockumentary The Moment, and was filmed during a recording session in Paris. This geographical setting adds another layer to the song’s origin story, with Charli describing the experience of developing the visual concept while the track was still taking shape. “It was fun to be immediately reactive and come up with the idea for the video as the song was still being made,” she shared, emphasizing the spontaneous energy that permeated the entire process.
In the same British Vogue feature that originally teased her rock ambitions, Charli opened up about her deliberate decision to avoid creating a sequel to the massively successful “Brat” album. The 2024 release transcended its status as a mere pop album to become a cultural phenomenon, essentially birthing the concept of “Brat Summer” and cementing Charli’s position as a genuine global superstar. Reflecting on what could have been an easy follow-up, she admitted, “If I’d made another album that felt more dance-leaning, it would have felt really hard, really sad. What’s interesting for me is to bend the possibilities of what my perspective on that could be.”
Besides her work on “Rock Music,” Charli has maintained an extraordinarily productive stretch across multiple creative fronts. Following the “Brat” era, she released a complete soundtrack album for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, demonstrating her versatility as a composer. She has also contributed original music to the A24 film Mother Mary, which features Anne Hathaway in the leading role. Her acting pursuits have expanded significantly, encompassing her starring role in The Moment, a part in the upcoming romance film Erupcja, and a secured position in the fantasy project 100 Nights Of Hero. Television audiences have seen her play a comedic version of herself in the series Overcompensating, while her latest casting news has her joining forces with Supergirl star Milly Alcock for a new horror film to be directed by the legendary Takashi Miike.
Fans eager to experience “Rock Music” in a live setting will have that opportunity very soon. Charli is set to make her headline debut at Reading & Leeds festival this August, topping the bill alongside an impressive lineup that includes Fontaines D.C., Raye, Florence + The Machine, Dave, and Chase & Status.
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