Charli XCX Releases ‘Rock Music’ Single and Music Video

Charli XCX wasn’t joking: the dance floor is dead to her, and now rock music is taking over clubs all over the world. How true is this claim? Her latest single, “Rock Music,” proves it, from the cigarette smoking and alleyway loitering to the guitars maxing out all the distortion. The release date of her latest album is still under wraps, but what we know so far is the sheer breadth of experimentation, shifting from her Brat era to rock.

The music video for “Rock Music” shows Charli preparing in a hotel room, complete with a cameo from her real-life husband, The 1975 drummer George Daniel. She then travels through the streets of New York City to attend a live show. The scenes jump into complete surrealism, with mountains of cigarettes piled up while Charli smokes more sticks, alongside slow-motion shots of mosh pits breaking out.

Last April 15, after a significant stretch of silence, Charli returned to Instagram to the surprise of many, revealing that she was back in the studio recording a new album. The caption on the post read, “i love making things,” followed by a series of teasers showing her working alongside longtime collaborator and producer A.G. Cook. A day after resurfacing, Charli spoke with British Vogue about her recording sessions in Paris, explaining why she thinks the “dance floor is dead” for her and clarifying that she isn’t making “Brat 2.0” with the new album, which is in reference to her highly successful 2024 album Brat. 

“I’ve been making music since I was 14. It’s nearly 20 years. I feel very spoiled saying this, but there is not much that can thrill me within music any more,” she says. “For me, it’s fun to flip the form. We know there’s gonna be people who are bothered by it, but that’s fine.”