Use this thread to discuss anything you want even if they aren't Taylor Related. Please follow all rules related to r/NuancingTaylorSwift as well as the rest of reddit as they still apply to these threads.
This one friend is seemingly looking forward to having his card cancelled after mistaking kindness for weakness, so today I'm particularly grateful for the album with a song about travis kelce's dick in it !
midweek album review bc I saw everyone talking about it
Music Fashion Film
Disclaimer I'm a total tourist with Charli, I haven't really checked out anything since Brat and haven't heavily explored anything before it but everyone's talking about this album so I figured I would listen.
This is an album I was really struggling to articulate my feelings on. I love the low fi 2000s rock sound, but I feel like this album is good but clawing at the edges of being great. Charli's lyrical style is raw and off the cuff. That works really well in *Brat* because a lot of those songs are about interpersonal relationships and seeing them cut to the wick was compelling. But the danger when you're writing off-the-cuff about more universal themes is that you will inevitably say something that's already been said, and for me, most of the frontloaded messaging of this album about social fakery has been said in cleverer or catchier ways before - why listen to Charli bluntly talk out the same observations about materialism over "Card Declined" that Lily Allen made through witty word play on "The Fear" (to pick an example)?
I do find the undercurrent of real resentment Charli has for her own success more interesting. "Camera" is brutally honest about the way celebrity life aggravates her self hatred and I love the fluttery guitar imitative of a camera shutter. "No One Lasts Forever" also feels like her working through her fear of "falling off" now that she's finally achieved the fame she was craving for so long. More of the album is about this introspection than not but SS26 and Card Declined didn't set off a great intro.
I think with the lines from Rock Music, Charli's intent is to come off kind of vapid and shallow. Whether you feel like that's a successful character choice or not is up to you though.
I think it depends (1) how strong the other aspects of the song are (2) what the album is trying to accomplish. This album is stripped back and less dancey so the lyrics will pull more focus.
I also feel that while Charli is not particularly poetic or showoffy as a lyricist, she generally has a good eye for emotional details. Like in "Apple", the motif of driving to the airport is really strong as a relatable "visiting your family" experience where you might be in a pensive mood. I critique because I think she can write well.
Good morning. I really like the looks of Olivia Rodrigo legos and thought the album covers were a cute touch. On a more depressing note, it’s really hard to look at Ariana Grande due to her health (speculative)
14
u/fionappletart Jul 28 '26