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Earlier this year, still tinged by the slime-green afterglow of <\/span>Brat<\/span><\/em>, Charli xcx<\/a> posted \u201cSee you next time,\u201d on her Instagram burner account as she wiped her grid clean. While many expected the popstar who had spent the past two years running on overdrive to retreat from the spotlight for a while, Charli never really went away: since 2024, she\u2019s soundtracked <\/span>Wuthering Heights<\/span><\/em>, appeared in four feature films (including her own A24-backed project <\/span>The Moment<\/span><\/em>), and today returns with her eighth studio album, <\/span>Music, Fashion, Film<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n Slowing down has never been Charli\u2019s game, and in a sense her new record is about what happens when she finally stops trying to outrun herself. Rather than chasing the impossible task of outdoing <\/span>Brat<\/span><\/em>, she has described the album as simply \u201cmaking things with my friends\u201d \u2013 a turn inwards driven by the need to create at all costs.<\/span><\/p>\n At its core, then, <\/span>MFF<\/span><\/em> is concerned with the same questions of longevity that Charli has returned to throughout her career: \u201cthe tension of staying too long\u201d, the tricky complexities of stardom, and the \u201ccrashing highs and lows of ego\u201d, as she puts it in stunning closer \u201cNo One Lasts Forever\u201d. As the title of \u201cCamera\u201d\u2019s vinyl-exclusive B-side asks: \u201cIf you take away the music, what has she got?\u201d Well, her recent forays into fashion and film seem to be her answer, but neither are enough to quell the self-doubt and existential anxieties which run through the album.<\/span><\/p>\n While the new wave of fans that came with <\/span>Brat<\/span><\/em> may be expecting another set of party-girl anthems to fuel their summers, this album sees Charli dialled into more enduring themes. <\/span>MFF<\/span><\/em> is moody, drawing heavily on the warped guitars and blown-out textures that underpinned producer-collaborators A.G. Cook<\/a> and Finn Keane\u2019s 2023 album <\/span>Soft Rock<\/span><\/em>. Charli herself has pushed back on the idea that <\/span>MFF<\/span><\/em> is a quote-unquote rock album and, while there\u2019s no denying the rougher, guitar-led sonics here, its true appeal lies in twinning these elements with the glitchy, PC Music<\/a>-infused magic that longtime fans love her for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So, if it\u2019s a glossy pop record you\u2019re after \u2013 one that, we should add, <\/span>Brat <\/span><\/em>never set out to be in the first place \u2013 we\u2019d refer you to <\/span>Crash<\/span><\/em>, Charli\u2019s 2022 album which wrapped up her deal with Atlantic Records and saw her play with the most heightened versions of herself that come with pop stardom. Instead, <\/span>MFF<\/span><\/em> feels closer to 2020\u2019s <\/span>How I\u2019m Feeling Now<\/span><\/em>, recorded in the pandemic, with lyrics penned on live streams with fans and music videos super-imposed on green-screens. Understated, intimate and rough, <\/span>MFF<\/span><\/em> is one for her friends \u2013 and her Angels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Below, we rank all 11 tracks on Charli xcx\u2019s latest album, <\/span>Music, Fashion, Film<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Focused on the fashion side of the project, \u201cCard Declined\u201d muses on how we try to construct our identities through consumerism \u2013 an effort which, the lyrics suggest, will likely prove futile and unfulfilling. It\u2019s a fitting addition for a project conceived during Paris Fashion Week, but while the grungy production is compelling, it\u2019s not the track you\u2019ll find yourself returning to most.<\/p>\n