NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� This is the way ends, not with a bang, but a Twitch livestream.
On Thursday afternoon, hours after her deluxe, remixed, double-album version of leaked 鈥� this one called 鈥淏rat and it鈥檚 completely different but also still brat鈥� 鈥� and hours before it would be officially released, held a listening party/DJ event/livestream deep in New York鈥檚 Storm King Art Center, autumn leaves cascading down next to mammoth art installations. She stood beneath one of her own 鈥� a macro-scale version of the vinyl鈥檚 gatefold erected in her signature Brat green 鈥� and pressed play on a phone, commanding an activated crowd.
This album (not to be confused with her previous re-release, 鈥淏rat and It鈥檚 the Same but There鈥檚 Three More Songs So It鈥檚 Not鈥�) transforms some of the preexisting songs through features with starry collaborators like Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Robyn and her tour mate Troye Sivan. That is the beauty of dance music, anyway: It has an ability to reinvent itself.
Some are complete overhauls; others ring true to the original. It鈥檚 up for the listener to find their favorites. Until then: Here鈥檚 a ranking of the new tracks.
16. 鈥淩ewind,鈥� feat. Bladee
Swedish rapper-singer Bladee adds a lackadaisical flow to 鈥淩ewind,鈥� underlining the bleeding nostalgia of the original.
15. 鈥淚 might say something stupid,鈥� feat. and Jon Hopkins
The piano ballad of 鈥淏rat鈥� loses its hyper-present vocal effects, until the last minute-and-a-half, when the song crescendos into a slight, electro-emo dirge.
14. 鈥淢ean girls,鈥� feat. Julian Casablancas
For her remix of 鈥淢ean Girls,鈥� Charli XCX recruited the original mean girl of New York City: patron saint of whatever commercialized 鈥渋ndie sleaze revival鈥� cultural marketing movement has taken some corners of the internet by storm. It鈥檚 too fitting.
13. 鈥淎pple,鈥� feat. The Japanese House
Who knew 鈥淎pple鈥� needed a shimmery, synth-y indie pop rework? Charli XCX and The Japanese House, apparently.
12. 鈥淭alk Talk,鈥� feat. Troye Sivan
An uncredited and her polyglot tongue punctuate this reimagination of 鈥淭alk Talk,鈥� a clubby remix with Charli鈥檚 鈥淪weat Tour鈥� mate Troye Sivan. It鈥檚 sexy, to be sure, but maybe gets lost in this overstuffed release.
11. 鈥�360,鈥� feat. Robyn and Young Lean
Who expected this inspired combination of Robyn and Young Lean? Plus, Charli has long considered herself a Robyn-like figure: a pop star with a cult following, perhaps a little too cool for full-on mainstream appreciation. Of course, Brat Summer challenges that notion, but it is fall now, and the connections are still there.
10. 鈥淏2b,鈥� feat.
Another improvement from the original: The innate, smooth R&B-pop of Tinashe鈥檚 verse here is a welcomed addition.
9. 鈥淰on Dutch,鈥� A.G. Cook remix feat. Addison Rae
Addison Rae, who bears striking resemblance to the queen of all things Y2K 鈥� Britney Spears 鈥� is experiencing a second wind of her young career, due in part to Charli鈥檚 commitment to making her a pop star. On this 鈥淰on Dutch鈥� remix, a self-assured, swaggering and sometimes-screeching treatise on celebrity, Rae鈥檚 too-sweet vocals offer tension.
8. 鈥淐lub Classics,鈥� feat. BB Trickz
The new 鈥淐lub Classics鈥� speeds up Charli XCX鈥檚 vocals to chipmunk levels 鈥� it won鈥檛 be for everyone, but it will be a favorite to those whom its invention speaks.
7. 鈥淓verything is Romantic,鈥� feat. Caroline Polachek
A meeting of shared musical minds! Still a love song for platonic relationships, presented in a new fashion, this song demonstrates the kind of religiosity found in an early morning conversation with a close friend rather than in the club.
6. 鈥淚 think about it all the time,鈥� feat. Bon Iver
has long experimented in electronic music, and his featured work on the emotional heart of the album 鈥� 鈥淚 think about it all the time鈥� 鈥� allows Charli XCX to speak her concerns at a crossroads in life. He launches them into an ethereal space, as if casting them off into the universe in a lit lantern.
5. 鈥�365,鈥� feat. shygirl
Party girls, meet shygirl. The original 鈥淏rat鈥� closer reintroduced the club after an introspective moment; in this 鈥�365鈥� version, they never left. It鈥檚 4 a.m. in Berlin, hearts are racing, palms and everything else are sweaty, lights are dizzying.
4. 鈥淪ympathy is a knife,鈥� feat.
In the original 鈥淪ympathy is a knife,鈥� Charli XCX allows self-doubt room to breathe. Is she famous? Is she successful? Why does it seem like more commercial artists look down on her? Do they, or is that projection? On this version, Charli, a longtime Ariana Grande fan, brings in one of the biggest pop stars for an Imogen Heap-esque recasting of that story: What happens when you reach a certain level, and every part of your life is interrogated by strangers?
鈥淚t鈥檚 a knife when you鈥檙e so pretty, they think you must be fake,鈥� Grande adds her spin. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a knife when they dissect your body on the front page.鈥�
3. 鈥淕uess,鈥� feat.
A remix of a bonus track with one of the world鈥檚 biggest pop stars, 鈥淕uess鈥� featuring Billie Eilish is indulgent, flirty electrotrash, the kind that could convince anyone Brat Summer is not temporal but a state of mind. Produced by the Dare, it鈥檚 a refreshingly new way to hear Eilish鈥檚 whisper. This time, it booms.
2. 鈥淪o I,鈥� feat. A.G. Cook
鈥淪o I,鈥� a tribute to the late, great, could only have one collaborator: A.G. Cook, fellow member of the PC Music collective, and someone who worked closely with the gone-too-soon innovator. No dry eyes here, in this version that far exceeds the original. 鈥淪o I鈥� on 鈥淏rat鈥� is a guarded memorial; on 鈥淪o I鈥� featuring A.G. Cook, Charli tells stories about her friend Sophie with the hyper-specificity of the greatest narrative songwriters.
1. 鈥淕irl, so confusing,鈥� feat. Lorde
As if there was any other option for the No. 1 spot. 鈥淕irl, so confusing鈥� brings an end to a potentially long held and certainly private rivalry between Charli XCX and Lorde, two distinctly different artists once frequently mistaken for one another. And for a song about environmental and internalized insecurities, ones certain genders know all too well, it鈥檚 reassuring to hear these two powerhouses work it out on the remix.
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Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
