Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat explained

Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat
Type:	Remix
Artist:	Charli XCX
Cover:	Brat-remix-cover-art.png
Alt:	A lime green square with the album title in black lowercase Arial font has been mirrored horizontally.
Genre:	Electropop^[1]
Length:	50:28
Label:	Atlantic
Producer:	A. G. Cook Bon Iver the Dare Finneas Finn Keane George Daniel the Japanese House Jason Lader Jon Hopkins Julian Casablancas Novodor Styalz Fuego TimFromTheHouse Toby Wincorn Zhone
Prev Title:	Brat
Prev Year:	2024

Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat (stylised in all lowercase and mirrored) is the first remix album by English singer Charli XCX. It was released on 11 October 2024 by Atlantic Records. The album contains remixes of seventeen out of eighteen tracks from the deluxe version of her sixth studio album, Brat and It's the Same but There's Three More Songs So It's Not (2024), but also features the original tracks, thereby serving as a double album.

The featured artists on the album are Robyn, Yung Lean, BB Trickz, Ariana Grande, the 1975, Jon Hopkins, Troye Sivan, Addison Rae, Caroline Polachek, Bladee, Lorde, the Japanese House, Tinashe, Julian Casablancas, Bon Iver, Shygirl, Billie Eilish, Kesha and A. G. Cook. Cook and Finn Keane primarily handled production, George Daniel, and featured guests Bon Iver, Casablancas, and the Japanese House, among others, contributing additional production work.

Upon release, the record received acclaim from music critics, who considered it an innovative companion piece to the original album.

Background

Charli XCX released her sixth studio album Brat on 7 June 2024 to critical acclaim. A variety of remixes of its songs were released throughout its album cycle before the announcement of a remix album, starting with the release of the "Von Dutch" remix with A. G. Cook and Addison Rae, on 22 March 2024.^[2] Subsequent remixes of album tracks, such as "Girl, So Confusing" with Lorde and "Guess" with Billie Eilish, fueled rumours of a "remix concept".^{[3] [4]}

Release and promotion

Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat was announced^[5] along with the release of Troye Sivan's remix of "Talk Talk" on 12 September 2024.^{[6] [7]} On the same day, Rolling Stone announced that the remix album is set to be released on 11 October 2024.^{[8] [9]} The remixes featuring Billie Eilish and Lorde would be a part of the album's track list, along with the remixes featuring Addison Rae, Yung Lean, and Robyn, that were released as a part of the rollout of its original tracks.^[10] Skream and Benga's remix of "Von Dutch", however, did not make the cut. The timing of the album's release also coincided with Charli XCX and Sivan's Sweat concert tour.^{[11] [12]}

The album cover was posted with the caption "Brat and it's completely different but also still brat - out oct 11" on several of Charli XCX's social media accounts. These postings also included a link to pre-order the album within various streaming sites.^[13] The track list for the album was officially confirmed on 7 October when XCX gave a fan the track list during her performance on the Sweat Tour in Orlando, and encouraged them to share it online after the show. She later confirmed this on her social media.^{[14] [15]} The album is being sold as a double cassette, double CD, and triple LP.^[16] Kesha's remix of "Spring Breakers" was added to the tracklist on 14 October 2024, three days after the album's original release.

Prior to the album's release, billboards appeared around the US, Europe, and Japan teasing new collaborations, confirming BB Trickz, Bon Iver, Julian Casablancas, Tinashe, Shygirl, the 1975, Jon Hopkins, the Japanese House, Bladee, Caroline Polachek, and Ariana Grande for the album.^[17] Writing for The Cut, Cat Zhang mostly negatively criticized the choice of featured artists, except for Grande, Matty Healy, Polachek, Tinashe and Shygirl. Instead, Zhang expressed her desire for features from Rosalía, the Black Eyed Peas, Vince Staples, Rina Sawayama and Lily Allen.^[18]

Critical reception

The review aggregator site AnyDecentMusic? compiled 8 reviews and gave the album an average of 8.4 out of 10.

Concluding the review for AllMusic, Heather Phares declared, "Much more than a victory lap, brat and it's completely different but also still brat enriches the Brat listening experience and the understanding of Charli XCX's artistry. Fans know she's deserved this level of acclaim for years, but the creativity and generosity on display here is more proof that it's high time mainstream finally caught up to her."

Caitlin Chatterton of Clash awarded the album a score of 9 out of 10, praising its innovative sound and artistic direction. Rachel Aroesti from The Guardian described it as a testament to Charli XCX's "unstoppable" creative phase, giving the album a perfect score of 5 out of 5.

Writing for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield expressed that "the Brat remix isn't just a piece of promo product — it's an ass-kicking party album in its own right", extending the phenomenon of "Brat Summer" into autumn. Similarly, Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani felt XCX created a "self-reflexive reaction to her success with a companion piece that's just as relevant—and just as reflective of the zeitgeist—as its parent album.

The Daily Telegraph gave a mostly positive review, highlighting the star power of the album's many collaborators, but questioned if the myriad features was a "cynical marketing ploy [...] designed to go viral".

Track listing

Notes

• As with the original Brat, track titles are stylised in sentence case; featured credits are not enclosed within parentheses and are stylised in all lowercase.
• "Talk Talk" (featuring Troye Sivan) features uncredited additional vocals from Dua Lipa.
• Disc 2 mirrors the track listing of Brat and It's the Same but There's Three More Songs So It's Not.

Samples and interpolations

• "Club Classics" (featuring BB Trickz) contains an interpolation of the original version of "365".
• "So I" (featuring A. G. Cook) contains samples of "Beautiful" and "WWW", and contains an interpolation of "Xxoplex". All previously mentioned songs written and performed by A. G. Cook, and additionally contains a sample of "OOH" by SOPHIE, written by SOPHIE and performed by Jaide Green.
• "I Think About It All the Time" (featuring Bon Iver) contains an interpolation of "Nick of Time", written and performed by Bonnie Raitt.
• "365" (featuring Shygirl) contains a sample of "Frequency", written by Chris Peat and Mark Archer, and performed by Altern-8.
• Both versions of "Spring Breakers" contain an interpolation of "Everytime", written by Britney Spears and Annet Artani, and performed by Spears.

Personnel

Performers

• Charli XCX – vocals
• A. G. Cook – remixing (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13)
• Robyn – vocals (track 1)
• Yung Lean – vocals (track 1)
• George Daniel – remixing (tracks 2, 4)
• TimFromTheHouse – remixing (track 2)
• BB Trickz – vocals (track 2)
• Finn Keane – remixing (tracks 3, 7, 12, 15, 17)
• Ariana Grande – vocals (track 3)
• Jon Hopkins – remixing (track 4)
• The 1975 – vocals (track 4)
• Dua Lipa – background vocals (track 5)
• Troye Sivan – vocals (track 5)
• Novodor – remixing (track 5)
• Styalz Fuego – remixing (track 5)
• Zhone – remixing (track 5)
• Addison Rae – vocals (track 6)
• Bladee – vocals (track 8)
• Lorde – vocals (track 10)
• The Japanese House – remixing, vocals (track 11)
• Tinashe – vocals (track 12)
• Julian Casablancas – remixing, vocals (track 13)
• Jason Lader – remixing (track 13)
• Bon Iver – remixing, vocals (track 14)
• Toby Wincorn – remixing (track 15)
• Shygirl – vocals (track 15)
• The Dare – remixing (track 16)
• Finneas – remixing (track 16)
• Billie Eilish – vocals (track 16)
• Kesha – vocals (track 17)

Technical

• Idania Valencia – mastering
• Randy Merrill – mastering (track 5)
• Geoff Swan – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–9, 11, 14, 15)
• Tom Norris – mixing (tracks 3, 5, 10, 13)
• Bart Shoudel – mixing, vocal engineering (track 12)
• Cirkut – vocal engineering (tracks 1, 8)
• George Daniel – vocal engineering (track 2)
• Jon Shave – vocal engineering (tracks 3, 9)
• Finn Keane – vocal engineering (tracks 3, 11, 14)
• A. G. Cook – vocal engineering (tracks 5, 9, 10, 13–15)
• Hudson Mohawke – vocal engineering (track 13)
• Matt Cahill – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–9, 11, 14, 15)
• Tyler Beans – engineering assistance (track 13)

Charts

Chart (2024)! scope="col"

Peak position
Croatian International Albums (HDU)^[19]	6
Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan)^[20]	75
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)^[21]	19
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[22]	1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[23]	19

Notes and References

1. Charli XCX è sempre più Brat: il nuovo album è un rave electropop . Digiuni . Valentina . Vanity Fair (Italy) . it . October 10, 2024 . October 11, 2024 .
2. Web site: Rigotti . Alex . March 23, 2024 . Charli XCX teams up with Addison Rae and A.G. Cook on 'Von Dutch' remix . September 12, 2024 . NME . en-GB.
3. Web site: Charli XCX announces "'Brat' and it's completely different but also still 'Brat'" . Dunworth . Liberty . . September 12, 2024 . September 12, 2024.
4. Web site: Weiskotten . Emily . August 16, 2024 . Glitter Magazine Charli xcx Sparks Excitement by Teasing New 'BRAT' Remix Concept . September 12, 2024 . glittermagazine.co . en-US.
5. Charli xcx announces 'Brat and it's completely different but also still brat'. . Jacob . Lola . Coup de Main . September 13, 2024 . September 22, 2024.
6. Charli XCX Announces 'Brat and it's completely different but also still brat' Remix Album . Saulog . Gabriel . Billboard (Philippines) . September 13, 2024 . September 22, 2024.
7. Web site: Monroe . Jazz . September 12, 2024 . Charli XCX Announces Full Brat Remix Album, Enlists Troye Sivan for New "Talk Talk" . September 12, 2024 . Pitchfork . en-US.
8. Ragusa . Paolo . September 12, 2024 . Charli XCX Announces Brat and it's completely different but also still brat, Shares "Talk Talk" Remix with Troye Sivan: Stream . September 9, 2024 . Consequence.
9. Shanfeld . Ethan . September 12, 2024 . Charli XCX Announces New 'Brat' Project . September 22, 2024 . Variety.
10. Charli XCX Recruits Billie Eilish, Troye Sivan, Lorde For 'Brat' Remix Album . Greene . Andy . . subscription . September 12, 2024 . September 22, 2024 .
11. Web site: SWEAT — Troye Sivan & Charli XCX . September 12, 2024 . Sweat-tour.com . en.
12. Charli XCX has shared 'Talk Talk (feat. Troye Sivan)' ahead of 'Brat and it's completely different but also still brat' . Taylor . Sam . . September 12, 2024 . September 22, 2024.
13. Dunworth . Liberty . September 12, 2024 . Charli XCX announces "'Brat' and it's completely different but also still 'Brat'" . September 12, 2024 . NME . en-GB.
14. Charli XCX gives 'Brat' remix album tracklist to fans and asks them to "put it online" . Dunworth . Liberty . October 7, 2024 . October 9, 2024 . NME . en-GB.
15. Web site: Richards . Will . October 7, 2024 . Charli XCX confirms full tracklist for 'Brat' remix album . October 7, 2024 . Rolling Stone UK . en-GB.
16. Web site: charli xcx official store . September 12, 2024 . charli xcx . en.
17. Zemler . Emily . October 1, 2024 . Charli XCX Teases Collaborations With Bon Iver, Tinashe . October 7, 2024 . . en-US.
18. Web site: Zhang . Cat . 2024-10-07 . What to Expect From Charli XCX’s Brat Remix Album . 2024-10-18 . The Cut . en.
19. Web site: Lista prodaje 42. tjedan 2024.. 7 October 2024. . hr. 23 October 2024. 23 October 2024. https://archive.today/20241023153624/https://www.top-lista.hr/www/lista-prodaje-strano-42-tjedan-2024/. live.
20. Web site: Billboard Japan Download Albums – October 18, 2024. Billboard Japan. ja. 18 October 2024.
21. Web site: 2024 42-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100). AGATA. lt. 18 October 2024. 18 October 2024.
22. Web site: NZ Top 40 Albums Chart. Recorded Music NZ. 21 October 2024. 18 October 2024.
23. Web site: Veckolista Album, vecka 42. Sverigetopplistan. 18 October 2024.