Artist: Charli XCX
Release: ‘True Romance’
Release Date: Out now
Charlotte Aitchinson has come along way from singing original songs on Myspace.
Just four years after the twenty year-old found herself playing gigs for small crowds at raves in East London, she has released ‘True Romance’ – the follow up to her debut album, ‘14′.
Although copies were sold, ’14’ was never released commercially, making ‘True Romance’ the singer-songwriter’s first shot at storming the charts. Met with a lukewarm response, admittedly there isn’t a lot of versatility on the album overall. Her vocal and songwriting abilities are superb, but alongside the synthesized backing the majority of tracks blend into one another. The highlights include ‘Cloud Aura‘ featuring American rapper Brook Candy, which sees Charli trying her hand at rapping and singing with the aid of auto tune and ‘Black Roses‘, which reminds fans of the old electronic-pop loving Charli with a playful beat and vocals that could easily be mistaken for Marina and The Diamonds – a much needed change of pace.
The album also features previously released track ‘Nuclear Seasons‘ which was released back in 2011, giving loyal fans a taste of her older material alongside the brand new. Tracks such as ‘You (Ha Ha Ha)‘ (the albums lead single) I could imagine fitting in quite nicely in the mainstream charts with Charli adding her whispy vocals on top of Gold Panda’s ‘You‘, but overall ‘True Romance’ is very genre specific by staying true to its electronica/new wave roots.
Charli XCX has worked hard to release this album, so you have to commend her for her sheer determination to have her unique musical style heard. Although this may not be up everyone’s street, ‘True Romance’ showcases impressive songwriting abilities and overall maturity, proving that it can only be onwards and upwards for this girl.
Rating: 5/10
Reviewer: Sophie Turner
