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.

”I went my own way and I made it” are the opening lyrics on Brat, the sixth studio album from Charli XCX, and they triumphantly back the pop artist’s claim of solidifying herself in the crowded genre. This record is filled with club ready anthems about falling in and out of love, while still leaving room for showcasing her vulnerable side as well. Coming off of the success of her fifth record, Crash, in addition to several key movie soundtrack contributions, it would’ve been easy for Charli XCX to simply just ride the popularity wave and not add anything new to her repertoire. Brat instead is a remarkable achievement in artistic freedom, and comes armed with frenetic beats, soaring hooks, and breakneck tempo changes. While pop music has changed quite a bit over the last half decade, the ability of Charli XCX to stand out from the pack remains her greatest asset.

Every now and then you come across an album that just compels you to write about it. The current pop music scene is filled with new artists (Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa), established artists branching out from their main project (Hayley Williams), and the household names (Adele, Lady Gaga). Charli XCX was one of those artist I heard name-dropped a few times along the way of navigating through the wave of pop artists that were out there, but I discovered Crash by Charli XCX pretty late in the game (nearly a month after the initial release date) and I was immediately drawn into the world that this artist brings forth on the dynamic, smash of a record. Armed with a plethora of A-list producers, including The 1975’s George Daniel (among many others), Charli XCX could’ve gone in a number of directions on her fifth studio album. Much like how Dua Lipa set the world on fire the last two years with Future Nostalgia, Crash has that feeling of being the “it” pop record that could garner the same amount of momentum on radio and word of mouth.