Charli xcx has officially entered her next era and it’s a long way away from her previous vibe. brat summer is over, the dancefloor is dead, and our girl is paying homage to her rock star hubby, The 1975 drummer George Daniel.
Just months after releasing her Wuthering Heights soundtrack album, the “Von Dutch” singer dropped a brand new single titled “Rock Music” — a track that sees her flirting with grungier sounds while still keeping one foot firmly planted on the dance floor.
The song opens with electric guitars and pounding beats that feel worlds away from the neon chaos of brat, with Charli seemingly declaring the death of the club era in the chorus: “I think the dance floor is dead / So now we’re making ro-oh-oh-oh-ck music.”
Still, despite the title, this isn’t exactly Charli going full indie sleaze revival. Produced by longtime collaborator A. G. Cook, the track is packed with glitchy electronic flourishes and the bratty pop attitude fans have come to expect.
The first verse alone is peak Charli chaos: “Me and my friends, we go out / We take pictures and make stuff together / And sometimes we cry / We kiss each other, real incestuous vibes / (I knew you’d like that).”
Even the way the words “rock music” stutter and glitch throughout the track feels more rave-coded than rockstar rebellion, which honestly feels very intentional.
The black-and-white music video, directed by Aidan Zamiri, leans fully into the messy cool-girl aesthetic. It features Charli hanging around a hotel room with her husband George Daniel, smoking among literal mountains of cigarettes, and stripping in the street like she’s starring in a Tumblr-era fever dream.
The release also comes just weeks after Charli sparked discourse online following an interview with British Vogue published on April 16, where she declared: “I think the dance floor is dead… so now we’re making rock music.”
Naturally, the internet lost it, with fans and musicians debating whether Charli was about to abandon pop altogether for a full-blown rock album.
But Charli quickly clarified things on social media, explaining the whole thing was more tongue-in-cheek than genre manifesto.
“A video of me making a song called rock music that is not actually rock music which is funny because I never said I was making a rock album. love you xx,” she wrote alongside a clip of herself making music with friends and A. G. Cook.
Basically: the dancefloor may be “dead”, but Charli’s still making sure the party sounds good.
The song and video are being praised by fans as the perfect follow-up to brat.
Chookas, Charli. You’ve done it again!
The post Charli xcx Launches New Era With ‘Rock Music’ Ft George Daniel: ‘Perfect Follow Up To Brat’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
