Just when you thought Charli XCX couldn't get any more unpredictable, she's gone and announced a brand new album with Martin Scorsese, Marc Jacobs and John Cale on the cover. Because why not?
The Album That Nobody Saw Coming — Quite Like This
Charli XCX confirmed on Monday 1 June that her seventh studio album, Music, Fashion, Film, will be released on 24 July via Atlantic Records. The announcement landed on her social media channels hot on the heels of a surprise 'In Conversation' event and DJ afterparty in London over the weekend, where she and husband George Daniel — of The 1975 fame — had already set tongues wagging about her next era. Eleven songs, 30 minutes and five seconds of what promises to be a very deliberate departure from the Brat universe.
That Cover, Though
Shot in striking black and white by photographer Aidan Zamiri, the album artwork is genuinely jaw-dropping. Standing together are legendary musician John Cale, fashion icon Marc Jacobs, and Hollywood titan Martin Scorsese — each representing one pillar of the album's title. It's the kind of cover that demands a double-take, and Charli clearly knows it. The title itself is lifted from her recent single 'SS26', in which she sings about a runway that leads straight to hell — with music, fashion and film powerless to save anyone. Cheerful stuff, but brilliantly so.
So Is It a Rock Album or Not?
That's the question fans have been wrestling with since Charli dropped gritty lead single 'Rock Music' and then appeared to tease heavier sonic territory in a British Vogue cover story — before swiftly clarifying she "never said" she was making a rock album. Two singles and two B-sides are already out, including the punk-tinged 'Playboy Bunny', and the singer has been refreshingly unbothered by the polarised reaction. As she put it herself:
"I love it! And you might not, and that's cool. If you do [love it] that's cute, but if you don't, that's totally OK because that's just what it is to have personal preferences."
What Else Has Charli Been Up To?
Quite a lot, as it turns out. Beyond the new album, Charli has been on an extraordinary creative run — contributing music to A24's upcoming film Mother Mary, starring in her own mockumentary The Moment, and taking on acting roles in Erupcja, 100 Nights of Hero, and Amazon's comedy series Overcompensating. She also wrote the soundtrack for the latest Wuthering Heights adaptation, where she first collaborated with John Cale on the track 'House'. On the live front, she'll make her headline debut at Reading & Leeds Festival in August, topping the bill alongside Fontaines D.C., Raye, Florence + The Machine, Dave and Chase & Status — and has headlining festival slots lined up in the US at Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and Austin City Limits.
