Always Everywhere Wuthering Heights is the second soundtrack album from Charli XCX, and it acts as a solid companion piece to the film of the same name. While a dramatic departure from her last international breakthrough LP (Brat), there’s a cool groove found throughout Wuthering Heights that highlights this artist’s willingness to dive headfirst into a different world and let different mediums of art influence her music. The majority of the music found here was co-written by Finn Keane, and they do a commendable job of capturing the essence of the screenplay and film in a bit of a gritty escape to the sound that made Charli XCX a household name. Charli XCX was in a self-described rut of feeling “stuck” after Brat, yet she turned to film to re-capture her imagination and burn a new flame of creativity. A sound that feels more like Brat meets Bridgerton, Wuthering Heights takes some big risks and showcases Charli XCX as a more complex artist than many give her credit for.
During the brief introductory track called “House” that features John Cale of The Velvet Underground, Chali XCX begins to explore the depths of her creativity with a brooding song that finds the two vocalists repeating, “I think I’m gonna die in this house.” As the song unfolds, Charli XCX adds in some of her trademark vocal effects and electronica-stylized moods to help with setting the scene of Wuthering Heights. Things begin to pick up a bit with “Wall Of Sound”, which was released as the third single from the set, and it accentuates the big swings that Charli XCX took on this album inspired by the new film. After some remnants of sections that sound like it could’ve fit on Brat with a different tempo, the vocalist goes into her higher register on the bridge of, “Tell me that you love me / Tell me that you need me / You’re what keeps me breathing / Keeps my heart beating.”
Other songs in the early-going, like “Dying For You”, blend classic Charli XCX dance-pop with some orchestral sections to keep things interesting and remind her fans why they stick with her from record to record. The second verse of, “‘Cause you’re a gun to my head and you’re a wound in my chest / Yeah, you’re my favorite jewellery worn just like a noose ’round my neck / I’m losing gallons of blood, the river’s turning to red / I got a smile on my face, I bleed even more,” is well-written and features great lyrical imagery. “Always Everywhere” was the last single to be released from the set before the film/album released, and it features a nice blend of sweeping orchestral sections paired with another great vocal performance from Charli XCX. As the song reaches it crescendo, this artist paints with broad, vivid strokes in her delivery.
”Chains of Love” is one of the more immediately gratifying songs on Wuthering Heights, so it made sense for it to be one of the first songs to be released as a single. The bulletproof chorus of, “Shattering like glass / Is the breaking of my heart / The chains of love are cruel / I shouldn’t feel like a prisoner, oh / My face is turning blue / Can’t breathe without you here / The chains of love are cruel / I shouldn’t feel like a prisoner, oh,” evokes the emotions of falling in love perfectly, and still fills the room with a sense of tension behind her lyrics. “Out of Myself” begins with the lyrics of, “You take me out of myself / My fingers gripping the floorboards / I’m holding on tight / Forbidden fruit brought me back to life,” that bring some context to the album artwork and continue down the path of orchestra instruments meeting electronic pop. It works more often than it doesn’t, and it makes for a cool blend of styles.
”Open Up” provides the listener with a brief reprieve in the sequencing with a swooning interlude, while “Seeing Things” feels destined for a Bridgerton makeover at some point down the line from the Vitamin String Quartet. The heavy violin and upright bass parts are accentuated by the picturesque lyrics in the second verse of, “You’re a ghost now / Maybe a reflection / In fact, I’m certain I just saw you in a window / I was just browsing / When I met your eye / Couldn’t believe it, so I reached my fingers out to touch your face.” It’s one of my favorite songs that Charli XCX has penned to date, and it makes perfect sense in its placement in the Wuthering Heights sequencing.
”Altars” didn’t really do much for me as a song, as it’s filled with tired lyrical tropes like “One is not the loneliest number / Won’t keep puttin’ all my faith in you.” The beat doesn’t do it much of a favor, as it barely picks up the pacing in the chorus. “Eyes of the World” features a bit of an odd-sounding vocal performance from guest artist, Sky Ferreira, as she bellows over the mix and at times harmonizes with Charli XCX. It’s at this point in the record that it seems to get a bit disjointed in reaching the finish line, and some of the songs seem too similar to each other to truly stand apart. “My Reminder” is another one of those tracks that kind of gets lost in the late-album sequencing shuffle, while the closer of “Funny Mouth” ends up ending the record on a stronger note with the pondering chorus of, “If there’s a light, don’t let it go out / Take it in stride, put your foot in your mouth / Will we be alright?” that slow-builds to a crescendo of programmed instruments paired with an orchestra.
Wuthering Heights was directly inspired by the film of the same name, and I applaud Charli XCX for taking a leap of faith here by stretching her creative muscles into uncharted waters for her. I really enjoyed the majority of this album, but the last few songs were a bit too “samey” to fully realize her vision for this record. The best news from this record is that Charli XCX has rekindled her creativity and seems poised for another big breakout when she drops her next LP.