Crash marks the end of Charli’s contract with Atlantic Records and ironically, is probably the first time she’s ever given the label something fit for mainstream radio play. Going towards a more generic dance-pop sound, Crash is noticeably missing her traditional hyperpop/experimental flair. Even if it doesn’t have the same edge as Vroom Vroom or Pop 2, Charli still manages to show off her insane intuition for melodic structures and hooks throughout Crash. Charli’s potential as a pop star has never been in doubt but if she had played up to expectations, perhaps the experimental direction of pop in the past few years might have been altered completely. For the first time in her discography, it feels like Charli is giving pop music a chance to catch up to her. If an artist only ever takes risks, I suppose the logical extension is to play it safe for once.
On its surface, Crash feels like Charli holding back and in that sense, it doesn’t have the depth in production or harmonies that she typically employs. Influenced heavily by the new jack swing sounds of Janet Jackson, Crash celebrates classic pop sounds by intertwining them with Charli’s futuristic synths, vocal effects, and hypnotic hooks. If nothing else, the album proves that Charli at her most straightforward still stands far above her contemporaries. The addictive melodies on “Used to Know Me”, the vocal shifts on “Lightning”, and the pounding bassline on “Good Ones” all play up her natural instinct at crafting hits. The features from Caroline Polachek, Christine & the Queens, and Rina Sawayama fit securely into the puzzle Charli has created on Crash. With funk, dream pop, and disco sounds meshing together with her glitchy/techno influences, the album embraces both the vintage and modern sides of pop.
At times, Crash feels almost half-hearted like Charli is flexing the fact that she could create an album this tight in her sleep. There are moments like “Every Rule” or “Twice” where it feels like Charli is simply going through the motions of making a pop song instead of breathing more of her affinities into them. Thanks to the relatively short runtime, however, Crash never veers into the boredom territory. At worst, there’s an unequal balance in the quality of songs that dips towards reductive in the lowest moments of the album. Say what you will about her previous songs but there was no way you could label them as generic. On Crash though, there are plenty of forgettable moments that get lost among the natural hits. But if this is Charli at her worst, it says a lot more about her abilities than another hyperpop album ever could. Crash is like a what-if revelation for listeners: this is what would’ve happened if Charli followed the original career trajectory laid out for her. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, it’s probably better than a lot of albums that chart-toppers put out. But we all know that this Charli is nowhere near the one that has unrestricted creative freedom. If anything, Crash is a reminder that Charli is constantly ahead of her time and that pop music is nothing but child’s play for her.
Must Listens: Lightning, Move Me, New Shapes
