Not another 'Brat Summer': Charli xcx steps into a new, grittier era with her guitar-heavy album, 'Music, Fashion, Film,' out today - Yahoo

What the report says

Yahoo Entertainment reports that Charli xcx has released a new album, “Music, Fashion, Film,” marking a quick return after the 2024 “Brat” era became a major pop-culture moment. The piece says the singer had expected to step away from recording after touring, a remix album and work on a mockumentary, but new ideas emerged sooner than planned. The album, out today, includes the singles “Rock Music,” “SS26,” “Wink Wink” and “Camera.”

According to Yahoo, the record was made last October during Paris Fashion Week, a setting producer A.G. Cook encouraged because it fit the project’s concept and Charli’s creative instincts. The album also involves producer Finn Keane. Yahoo describes the new material as more guitar-driven, rougher in texture and more melancholy than “Brat,” while noting that Charli has pushed back on calling it a straightforward rock album.

The project’s visual identity is also central to Yahoo’s account. Its black-and-white cover, photographed by Aidan Zamiri, features John Cale, Marc Jacobs and Martin Scorsese together in a kitchen, representing the album’s three themes: music, fashion and film. Charli has personal or creative links to each figure, including work with Cale on the “Wuthering Heights” soundtrack and an early fashion campaign from Jacobs.

The release matters because it tests how Charli follows a defining commercial and cultural peak without repeating it. Yahoo frames “Music, Fashion, Film” as a deliberate contrast to the neon, club-oriented “Brat” image, with Charli emphasizing change, creative freedom and less interest in explaining lyrics or tracking online reaction.