Review: It’s charli baby: Charli xcx + Troye Sivan Sweat Tour

By Kosi Onwuamaegbu     10/22/24 11:31pm

I might say something stupid: BRAT by Charli xcx is one of contemporary music's most significant pop phenomena. That may seem like a hyperbolic statement, given how vast the world of Western pop music is, but it becomes less ridiculous when looking at the chart success, memes, dances and presidential campaign strategies inspired by the 2024 electronic pop album. The sheer weight of the album in the pop music landscape is emphasized by the excellent, club-inspired “Sweat Tour” accompanying the album.

The BRAT aesthetic did not appear out of thin air. Instead, it was borne out of one of the most creative and hard-hitting albums of 2024. The album sees Charli seamlessly blending the commercial and accessible approach of her 2022 album CRASH with the abrasive production of her earlier albums from record label PC Music albums Pop 2 and how i’m feeling right now. The result is an album that sounds like it was made to get people dancing in the club to have the time of their lives. 

“Girl, so confusing” is an electronic pop banger that harkens back to the best the genre had to offer in the early 2010s. The lyrics reveal the complexity of  Charli‘s falling out with a dear friend and the pressures that society places on famous women in the pop music industry. Other songs on the album, like “Everything is romantic” and “365,” see Charli singing over some of the most dynamic and adventurous beats in her career. The album is simply a work of art in electronic music.

---

---

That being said, what is a work of art without a gallery to showcase it to the world? For BRAT, that gallery came in the form of Sweat, a joint tour between Charli xcx and Australian dance-pop singer Troye Sivan. While Charli and Troye’s music are similar in sound and genre, their performance styles vary greatly. Troye’s performance is an homage to the iconic, shocking pop concerts of Madonna, Janet Jackson and Britney Spears. His show is complete with intricately crafted dance performances straight out of a Michael Jackson music video, makeout sessions with the dancers, ballads lit by thousands of cell phone flashlights and self-contained narratives driving each performance, reminiscent of classic romcoms.  

Unlike a typical multi-artist concert where the two artists perform separately, Charli and Troye’s performances were intertwined. They would alternate every two to four songs, they would hype each other up before the other performed, and their sets would always contrast nicely with each other. While Troye’s performance was a colorful, classic pop show, Charli’s was mostly monochrome and reminiscent of a nightclub. The constant contrast between the two artists made the concert feel like a novel with two separate main characters. Each of their journeys complemented the other and provided a unique experience before coming together at the end, reminding the audience that, at the end of the day, they’re here to entertain the same people. The same pop music fanatics dressed either in white tank tops to reference Troye’s work, or BRAT green clothing to reference Charli’s work — they’re all here for the showcase.

Flashing lights. Screaming fans. Chants that rang across the entire stadium. A sea of green and black in the crowd. Powerful bass that forces your body to move, even if you claim not to listen to “club music.” Charli’s songs would have made for an incredible performance alone, but with these factors in play, the concert turned into an almost out-of-body experience. Upon hearing the thumping bass of “club classics,” you suddenly weren’t a college student who missed two classes to drive all the way to Dallas for a pop concert. You were one with the crowd. One with the excitement of the club. You were BRAT.

---