MC's Music Lounge: Charli xcx's new album, Music, Fashion, Film, is a commentary on fame and power

It’s been two years since Charli xcx’s career took a major leap into commercial success with her album Brat. Since then she’s gone on tour across the world, released a mockumentary style film based on the album, done a soundtrack album for one of the year’s most anticipated movies, and is a staple at haute couture fashion shows. It’s all of that and more that make up her newest studio album, appropriately titled Music, Fashion, Film, the three creative avenues where all her talents and inspirations converge.

One of my favourite phases in a pop artist’s career is the “experimental” one after achieving mega mainstream success. It’s only natural for someone to want to try new things after experiencing a peak, especially when they didn’t expect that peak to begin with. That’s the case with Charli. The whole reason Brat was such a big success was because she was making the music she wanted to make which, according to a new interview, is music that doesn’t fit into a “binary”. She did it again this time, except this era brought her to a more rock and less electronic sound, and frankly it’s giving The Strokes (who also release new music this week). Music, Fashion, Film while still a primarily pop album contains slacker rock and grunge influences scattered throughout. Especially songs like “Yeah” where the main character is the guitar solos. Some OG Charli fans aren’t too into the record, meanwhile listeners who understand her vision are eating it up. The album is a commentary on fame and power. When you get Martin Scorsese, John Cale and Marc Jacobs to pose for the cover of your record there is certainly a level of power involved in making that happen.

It’s definitely a power that the pre-Brat Charli didn’t have, allowing her to really take the creative reins with this project. When I first played the album, it immediately gave me American Life by Madonna vibes and I don’t just mean because of the way that it sounds. Sure, there are definitely sonic similarities, specifically a song like “Card Declined” which to me sounds like the sister song to Madonna’s “I’m So Stupid”. But it’s actually the entire attitude of the project that makes it feel American Life-esque. Charli knows that she’s produced something weird that maybe not everyone is going to get. And maybe, just maybe, that’s exactly what she wants. The next few months for Charli include a sold out arena tour for the album, and a top 5 sales debut. Not bad for an artist who at one time was playing concert venues with less than 1000 attendance and albums that barely peaked within the top 100.

Next week is finally Ariana week as she will be releasing her eighth studio album Petal. She’s been all over my feed all summer long on the Eternal Sunshine tour, and it’ll be interesting to see if she incorporates the new album into the set at all. This week, joining Charli is some new music from Kylie Cantrall, Tyla, The Strokes and THEHONESTGUY. Plus, Dua Lipa’s manifestations have resulted in my favourite viral trend of the week

Listen on…

MC’s PICKS OF THE WEEK

“Camera” by Charli xcx

Easily the catchiest and most traditional pop-leaning track on the album, “Camera” is destined to be a hit. Should the single get its deserved chart success is neither here nor there because I can already see this track being a centrepiece during her live shows; and that’s the true test as to whether a song is landing with its intended audience or not. “Camera” has classic pop qualities, the repetitive hook is pop at its core, but the instrumentals have that rock edge that she was teasing in the beginning of the era. The guitar riffs that run throughout the entire song make for a dreamy experience. Her unmistakable British accent is felt throughout the chorus when she sings “All I know is how it makes me feel” over and over. It makes for some real good karaoke. The lyrics reference ageing in the public eye and how society views female public figures in particular as they get older under the microscope of public view. She’s pretty direct about it too. She speaks/raps in the verse “Do I wanna make music? Am I being f-ckn’ stupid if I try to be a girl on the screen when I’m turning thirty-four?”. The video stars French actor Vincent Cassel, with Charli appearing as something of a director in the black and white visuals. Clearly a nod to the “film” of Music, Fashion, Film.

“Space Between” by Kylie Cantrall

There’s nothing like good old school Disney gossip, and this music release is some of the juiciest we’ve seen since the Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter debacle back in early 2021. “Space Between” is the final song on Kylie Cantrall’s Valley Girl Problems EP, and the song's lyrics are about a friendship break-up caused by a boy. It’s all very “The Boy Is Mine” except in this case, it was a best friend who stole said boy from the other friend. Oh, and the friends are Kylie Cantrall and her Descendants co-star Malia Baker. And the boy? That would be Malachi Barton from the Disney Zombies franchise. All three players met during the joint North American arena tour that they all went on last year. Kylie was with Malachi, Malachi dumped Kylie for Malia, Malia and Kylie were best friends and now, according to the song, there’s a “boy sized space” between the girls. It’s like an episode of The OC without the drugs but with all the scheming and cheating. Sonically, “Space Between” is a beautiful song. Co-produced by legendary producer Tricky Stewart, it has a similar chord progression to the R&B/pop mid-tempos sung by the likes of JoJo and Rihanna back in 2007, which seems to be the exact sound and aesthetic that Kylie is going for, low rise jeans and all. “Space Between” is a strong song and the key change in the final section is incredibly pleasing to the ear, but the kids online aren’t paying attention to this. Kylie’s Taylor Swift approach to songwriting on this new EP leaves little to the imagination, and pretty much gives us the entire story, with no names of course. That has only jacked up the Disney fans online, and for those of us who have been following Disney drama since the Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan days, this is the type of sh-t we live for. Some fans are accusing Kylie of feeding into the catfight narrative to sell records. My friend and social media extraordinaire Elise Armstrong put it best saying, “she [Kylie] needs to be able to call out the people who do her wrong AND she really needs to take ownership and be honest about her wrongdoings in her songs”. Kylie is also still only 21, the same age Taylor Swift was when she released “Better Than Revenge” where she famously sings the line “She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress”. Let’s give our girls some grace as they navigate the harsh world of boys, shall we?

“Lonely in the Future” by The Strokes

Charli xcx comparisons aside, The Strokes are throwing some shade with their latest single which sees the band reflecting on the state of music today with their own set of criticisms on what is now considered popular. The first verse of “Lonely in the Future” begins with the lyrics “Weeknd, I like your outfit/YOLO, you only live once”, and fans believe that that’s lead singer Julian throwing shade towards both The Weeknd and Drake. Online fan forums have long speculated that The Weeknd’s mid-2010s look was completely rip-off of the early 2000s style of The Strokes, while “YOLO” is a direct take from the band’s 2006 song “You Only Live Once”. Could it be a coincidence? It’s possible, after all, it’s not like Drake created the term, but he certainly helped popularize it to a mainstream audience in a way The Strokes could not. Either way, it makes for an interesting conversation about artistic intellectual property and what constitutes as tribute, coincidence, or full-on theft. At the end of the day, everything always comes from SOMETHING, so maybe, there’s something to be said about being the “something” that people pull inspiration from. Charli xcx has certainly pulled inspiration from The Strokes’ sound on her new album. The song itself and the new album Reality Awaits has fans online split, but for me, as someone who has been a passive fan of The Strokes, I quite enjoyed the single and am now fully enticed to check out the full body of work. Let me know if you guys feel the same.

“THAT GIRL” by Tyla

Always a polarizing figure on the internet, Tyla has dropped her long-awaited sophomore album A*POP. The album is meant to represent the days when Tyla was a young girl and dreaming of becoming a pop star, and now that she has achieved said goal, this is the result. The album is dope and filled with bangers from top to bottom. I read a tweet last week that said her album release made it a “big week for sexy people”. I felt seen. “THAT GIRL” to me is an obvious single choice off the record and with her debut headlining tour on its way, it would make for the perfect segue into the next phase of this album cycle. A cycle that has already seen two hits in “CHANEL” and “SHE DID IT AGAIN (feat. Zara Larsson)”. Tyla has been doing major things in the lead-up to this album release. She just took the stage with Shakira during a performance of “Hips Don’t Lie”, performed at the halftime show for the WNBA all-star game and she also just launched her own BRATZ doll using her name and likeness. She really is “that girl”.

“LET ME GO” by THEHONESTGUY

My favourite genre of R&B is when it leans more towards groovy synths and bounce. Upon searching through my discovery suggestions on Spotify, I came across this gem that has stayed on replay all weekend long. “LET ME GO” is an Afrosoul song that is both smooth and upbeat. THEHONESTGUY is a Canadian artist from Toronto who recently won a Juno award for his debut album VELVET SOUL last year. Now he returns with a new EP DON’T DISTURB THE GROOVE: AFROSOUL, and its contents are perfectly described in the title. Think Afrobeats, with more vocals and more R&B-leaning production. “LET ME GO” is an instant vibe and earworm. You can feel the music running through your bones upon the first play. Plus, it always feels exciting to me when I get the chance to discover a Canadian artist. As a Canadian myself, our music scene is very much bumping and somewhat underrated. Believe it or not, we are more than just Drake and The Weeknd! In THEHONESTGUY’s case, his brand of “funky soul” is innovative and separates him from other R&B artists in music today. Having been born in Lagos, he owns his African heritage while also incorporating the North American R&B sounds that he grew up around, from artists like Stevie Wonder and D’Angelo. Sometimes, the algorithm really does come through and helps expose us to something incredible.

MC’s VIRAL PICK

“Training Season (Live from the Royal Albert Hall)” by Dua Lipa

A longtime running joke on the internet has been that Dua Lipa literally is always on vacation. In 2026, that joke has now transitioned into a full-on manifestation ritual among content creators. Dua recently married Callum Turner in a fabulous multi-event celebration both in London and Sicily that was star-studded and chic as f-ck. Then add in the fact that she is hot as f-ck, thriving in her professional career and rich? Yes, I’ll manifest this too. The song being used for the trend is her live performance of “Training Season” from the 2024 Royal Albert Hall concert. Dua used a live orchestra for the performance, adding an extra layer of drama to both the song and the point that the trend is trying to make. We’re manifesting here, so we need the extra sauce.

Dua has taken a little bit of a break from her music in the last year in order to focus on her personal life, but don’t get it twisted. She is very much still working and earning that coin. European wedding extravaganzas don’t come cheap. Dua is the new spokesperson for Nespresso, with print campaign taking over billboards across North America. There’s about four of them within a one km radius of my condo building. She’s also been spotted at Electric Lady Studios, assumingly recording new music and getting ready for the next phase in her career. The lyrics of “Training Season” are all about manifesting a partner who will treat you right and make you feel like you no longer need to “train” him. It worked for Dua, so if I need to sing this song over and over for it to work for me… I guess that means I have a new addition to my nighttime ritual.