“Music, Fashion, Film” debuts with an 85 on Metacritic

[Controversiaga 16,096]

Flop confirmed!!!!

[Kayioshka 3,335]

On 7/24/2026 at 6:57 AM, jimmytimestep said:

It's refreshing that such a major artist feels untethered enough to experiment like this.

It's a good album. it's not a cultural reset by any stretch of the imagination, but it's good music and sort of proves to everyone that she's an artist at her core and driven by only that, not by the industry/machine. 

I also will say that I find her an incredibly arresting and intimate lyricist. She understands simplicity...which I feel was evident on 'brat' as well but because that album was so maximalist in its sound, it's nice to have this album to really see her without any artifice.

Miley did this too in 2025 with Something Beautiful.

This album is so good.

[gagzus 23,139]

1 hour ago, Kayioshka said:

Miley did this too in 2025 with Something Beautiful.

This album is so good.

I think everyone benefits from becoming untethered by Pop and the business of Pop. Charli in a recent interview explained her “anti-marketing” marketing, because people seem to think she means literally not marketing it.

She basically said pop music has become too accessible in the sense that the audience is now parasocial to it. Fans opinions are taken too much into account by labels now. And it’s a plague on every musician because ultimately; EVERYONE no matter what they say wants to be a popstar. Even rock artists want to be a popstar. Not in the sense of making pop MUSIC but they all ultimately crave the success of popstars for the budget and perceived “creative freedom”.

So instead of making music that took it’s audience into perspective — allowing her fans to influence the sound, writing, how she promotes it and more — she instead made it in a vacuum with only one goal in mind; not making anything like brat.

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

Oh so we're all pretending to like it

[Roughhouse Dandy 13,613]

V glad she released something cool to shake off the ones who only hopped on the train for BRAT and BRAT adjacent activity. The music was good, but the new girls and gays made the era so annoying 

 

[StrawberryBlond 15,566]

Not as bad as I feared it would be. I think it's certainly more cohesive and interesting than Brat (yes, I didn't truly get that album) but I can't get over how short these songs are. Lots of potential stopped by being too short before they become anything with a real lack of lyrics. I know her flat, bored delivery is essential to her cool girl persona and the pessimistic theme but after several albums of this, it's getting obnoxious now and like she can't be bothered to sing properly. Nearly half of it was good but an overwhelming feeling of she just wanted to make a new album and wanted to subvert expectations so she didn't feel the pressure to match Brat's succeess so this is what we got. I do think No one Lasts Forever was hypnotically beautiful and one of her best tracks ever, so I'm glad it ended on a high note. I just wish she could have developed the other songs to that extent.

Ever and always, though, I'm still mystified as to why critics give her such high praise. I've seen much better albums not be rated as highly that actually have more profound lyrics and more to say. It's like they're so used to praising her now that it feels mandatory, believing that everything she creates must be a genius avant garde statement that's going over our heads that we'll understand a decade from now or something. I think critics must be noticeably younger now too. I can't imagine most people over the age of 40 understanding any of this.

22 hours ago, Roughhouse Dandy said:

BRAT and BRAT adjacent activity.

That phrase is so unintentionally funny, I love it!

[Ladle Ghoulash 53,095]

23 hours ago, FfFfFfFF said:

Oh so we're all pretending to like it

Honestly how it feels watching Addison stan gobble up her slop