Charli XCX : " Crash"

 Quirky British pop singer Charli XCX is back. This time she is showing us that she makes an album with a half dozen less songwriters and producers than the likes of the Weeknd or Lil Nas X . She does continue a slick 80s retro path and I am not sure any of the songs strike me as bumping as hard as she did on  "How   I'm feeling now" . She has a knack of riding the beats with odd chanted vocal lines which she comes out of the gate doing on the opening track. There are actual instruments like guitars being played which is more of a novelty these days in pop music. "New Shapes' is a little more streamlined and features Christine and the Queens , along with Caroline Polachek. This combination lends itself to sounding more like HAIM, though some of the Imogen Heap influence that could be heard on the last album can still be felt here,.

"Good Ones" has a Eurythmics like groove to it, but she pulls out some great vocal hooks. "Constant Repeat" is fun, with it's dancey groove. Though the lyrical content seems to be a continuation of the previous song. If "Beg For You " seems familiar they sample from the melodies of "Don't Cry" by Milk Inc and "Cry For You" by September which are gay club remix classics. "Move Me" required less work to write and flows better . In many ways  it is minimal with her voice doing mor. It is a formula that is more like a signature for her. There is a more of a early 9-s pop feel to "Baby" combined with disco.  "Lightning" starts off as more of a ballad. The robo vocal effects on the vocal usher in a more upbeat brand of future pop. "Every Rule"  feels more like a something that Taylor Swift would have done as a ballad on "Reputation". 

"Yuck"is more comparable to what the current trends in pop seem to be , but with more of a bubble chorus. Still if we are measuring this again pop standards this holds up better than most. The groove is cooler on "Used to Know Me". While she does not have the best pipes in the biz, her strength is where she puts her voice.  "Twice" is also a demonstration of this her albums have a history of growing on me, so I am going to go ahead and give this a 10 .