Released 16th February
Atlantic Records
7/10
Charli XCX – real name Charlotte Atkinson – has been making music since she was 14 and it seems like the constant years of hard work have paid off. Her as-yet-unreleased album Sucker already boats three top ten UK singles including ‘Boom Clap’, ‘Fancy’ and ‘Super Love’.
It’s hard to go anywhere now without seeing her iconic messy black hair and audacious attitude; she’s seen praise from The Guardian, Billboard, NME, Vice, Radio One and she’s chilling with the best of them – collaborations with Iggy Azealea, Rita Ora and Marina and the Diamonds have only further propelled her success into the music scene.
It’s unsurprising then, that Sucker has already had such great commercial success in the United States. She’s regarded as a sweetheart to those across the pond and for good reason; Sucker is track after track of sure fire hits. They’re undeniably catchy – XCX has certainly struck the right chords (literally) with this album.
It differs a lot to her first official album, True Romance, which was a beautiful dark mixture of gothic electro pop. Sucker feels more like the sassy older teenager that’s modelled itself on Mean Girls and doesn’t give a fuck if she’s part of the plastics – like Regina George, it’s fabulous but it’s evil.
XCX hasn’t held back on this album with songs such as ‘Breaking Up’ stating “everything was wrong with you/so breaking up was easy to do/hated your friends and your family too”. It’s a step up from ‘Stay Away’, the shy older track that’s the root of the former, and is a hella catchy break up anthem.
If the album had to be summed up in five words, they’d be “Charli doesn’t give a fuck”. Literally, she introduces the album by shouting “FUCK YOU, SUCKER!” There’s no soppy longing songs about lost lovers, Sucker is just a constant party the whole way through. There’s even a song about how masturbation is better than anything a guy could give (‘Body Of My Own’). It seems Charli really is living like a “London Queen”.
It’s definitely a pop album above the rest; it has diversity and direction, sass and seduction, and Sucker is an undeniably good album.
