Tag: Alternative

Music, Fashion, Film: An Honest and Concise Look into Art and the Artist

Posted on by joshwurz

Charli xcx released Music, Fashion, Film on July 24th, after a two year break from her massive cultural phenomenon, Brat. Most artists would continue to chase and milk such a big success by replicating the same sound, lyrical themes, and vibe, but Charli decided to take her time and go in a different direction for her follow-up studio album. Between Brat and Music, Fashion, Film was the 2026 soundtrack album for Wuthering Heights. This soundtrack both served as a creative reset for Charli xcx and a palette cleanser for her fans before going into a new direction. Music, Fashion, Film is the culmination of Charli’s career up to this point and her relationship with art and fame. The record paints a stunning picture of her love of art, the creation process, and the toll that being an artist and public figure has brought to her.

The release of Music, Fashion, Film followed a steady stream of lead singles. Four out of the eleven tracks were released prior to the album’s release, including “Rock Music,” “SS26,” “Wink Wink,” and “Camera.” Each single had an accompanying music video to continue pushing the aesthetics of the music forward in the culture. The music, music videos, and album cover are filled with widely known and respected figures spanning across the various mediums of entertainment and art that are present. Music, Fashion, Film’s album cover features her biggest inspirations and major figures from each industry: John Cale, Marc Jacobs, and Martin Scorsese.

Music, Fashion, Film continues the collaborative effort between Charli xcx and her co-writers and producers, A. G. Kook and Finn Keane. This team has worked together previously on multiple releases, most notably Brat, and now for Music, Fashion, Film. The records are vastly different from each other, but the collaborative DNA and strength of the team shine through in both albums. Charli and her team put everything into the presentation and package of her music and the world around it.

Music, Fashion, Film deals with Charli’s relationship with art, her fame, and her insecurities of reaching this status with the work that she does. Including these figures on her cover is a way of acknowledging her inspirations and also showing what she aspires to do with her own work. Many songs in this record deal with her insecurity and the toll that her position has taken on her both as an artist and as a public figure. It’s a very personal and honest record for Charli and perfectly shows her current mindset. Brat was a curated characterization of her, but Music, Fashion, Film feels like true insight into who Charli xcx is as a person and as an artist.

Music, Fashion, Film blends Charli’s typical electronic style that she has become well known for with a new indie-rock approach. While I appreciated the cultural impact that Brat had, the music was not aligned with my usual taste. Music, Fashion, Film is a fun new direction for Charli that brings in the sounds, vibe, and instrumentation of a genre that I love while making it her own artistic statement. This album heavily features distorted electric guitars, bass, drums, and familiar instrumentation to indie-rock music that isn’t typically as prevalent in her normal genre. The instrumentation and melodies on this album are very inspired and clearly something that Charli and her team put a lot of effort into curating.

The length of the album is perfect, clocking in at 30 minutes and 5 seconds. It lasts long enough to leave an impact and get Charli’s message across without overstaying its welcome or losing its novelty. Initially, my only personal grievance with this album was feeling like many of the songs themselves were too short. A few of the tracks have a shorter length around a minute or two and felt like they ended right as they started, but now I realize it keeps the momentum going strong. The songs are presented with many wonderful ideas that don’t drag on and keep the listener engaged while continuing to push forward. Perhaps Music, Fashion, Film could have had fewer tracks and let the remaining ones breathe for longer amounts of time, but I cannot argue at all with the final presentation that Charli xcx ended up with. Music, Fashion, Film is fast-paced and very energetic with a consistent and strong pulse. The tracklisting is perfect and one of the stronger elements of the album; it really keeps the momentum going strong throughout. Overall, Music, Fashion, Film is a very concise, honest, personal, and time capsule of Charli xcx in this current stage of her life. Capturing how she feels about her relationship with art, the creative process, and her own status in a deeply confessional way. You can listen to the record here and find her on tour here.

Listen to Music, Fashion, Film, out now.

The Strokes’ ‘Reality Awaits’ Is the Ultimate Display of Self-Expression

Posted on by joshwurz

The discourse around The Strokes’ new album is almost as entertaining as Reality Awaits is. The Strokes’ new album came out last Friday and has driven up quite a stir among fans and critics. Many point out the obvious use of autotune, Julian’s public persona, and even the diss thrown towards Anthony Fantano. These criticisms may be fair and are really up to the listener’s own preference, as all consumption of art is, but I believe that Reality Awaits is the ultimate display of self-expression and what happens when a band puts the art and self-expression above everything else.

Reality Awaits is the seventh studio album from The Strokes and follows the beloved 2020 album The New Abnormal. This release also follows Julian’s side project 2024 album Like All Before You from The Voidz. The lead-up to Reality Awaits involved two lead singles and a delayed release. “Going Shopping” was the first single to release and immediately caught a large amount of attention for its prevalent use of autotune and catchy hooks. “Going Shopping” was paired with a very surprising yet fitting appearance of Walton Goggins in the official music video that was released. This video also showcases Casablancas dancing, which is a rare sight to see. Following “Going Shopping” was the final single released called “Falling out of Love”. This single also heavily featured autotune, which furthered the discourse leading up to the release. After “Falling out of Love” was released on May 13th, the release date for Reality Awaits was delayed from June 26th to July 24th.

Reality Awaits is a darker release from The Strokes, featuring many personal themes including relationships with art and critics along with societal and political disillusionment. The Strokes hit hard on this record and pushed their own art above any criticism and backlash. Casablancas unapologetically moves forward with his use of autotune to fully serve his self expression and art to fulfill his vision. Reality Awaits was recorded in Costa Rica and produced by Rick Rubin, and this combination is perfect for the art and goal of self-expression. Rubin knows how to push and pull an artist to their fullest extent. He often pushes artists to explore and experiment in a way that other producers can’t. The album is full of incredible vocal performances that are deeply compelling. Especially on “Dine N’Dash,” but in all honesty, the entire album has an outstanding emotional depth that Julian puts on full display in every track. Casablancas is very intentional about how his vocals come across, either lazy, up high, colored by autotune, or simply just hitting hard. Everything he does is clearly well thought out and applied to whatever instances he sees fit.

The consistency of Reality Awaits is one of the strongest attributes. Every track will speak to certain preferences while others may not. Every list I’ve seen has completely different rankings of the tracklist. I can’t even rank the songs myself; every song works for me perfectly and is such a great, consistent ride throughout. The band is clearly pouring everything into this record. Care and effort are evident at every drum hit, bass line, guitar riff. Reality Awaits oozes with fun and attention that every moment is filled with ear candy and intricate details. The transitions between each track are especially cool and show the attention to detail that The Strokes took in crafting this album. The band’s performance on this album uplifts and complements the writing immensely. Reality Awaits features a wide dynamic range of emotion that never gets boring or stale. They put everything they have forward and serve the songs to the best of their ability while staying true to their artistic vision. Julian is a master of melody and knows exactly how to create the catchiest hook you’ve ever heard while unapologetically doing what he wants. Some don’t resonate with the use of autotune, but I don’t think that matters. Reality Awaits is a distilled album made purely out of self-expression, but most importantly, it just rocks.

Listen to the album here –  Catch The Strokes on tour here