Music
fromPitchfork
3 days agoJessie Ware: Superbloom
Charli XCX's statement about the dancefloor being dead resonates amid Jessie Ware's latest album, suggesting a shift in the music landscape.
When director Emerald Fennell needed to hire a musician to score her Wuthering Heights adaptation, only one person came to mind: Charli XCX. Not only did the British pop star accept the offer, but she used her soundtrack to capture love in all of its grandiose, moody, and elusive ways. As she described the soundtrack on her Substack, it's a "dive into persona, into a world that felt undeniably raw, wild, sexual, gothic, British, tortured and full of actual real sentences, punctuation and grammar."
"Very, very early in my career, an actor I worked with, a male actor, gave me a book called Why French Women Don't Get Fat," she told Charli, referring to a 2006 food book by Mireille Guiliano. "And it was essentially a book telling you to eat less." Robbie recreated her shocked expression upon receiving the book for Charli. "'I was like, ' Oh. F*ck you, dude,'" she recalled. "He essentially gave me a book to let me know that I should lose weight."
Reading and Leeds 2026 Festival will feature headline performances from British artist Raye and certified queer icon Charli XCX. It's a strong follow-up after 2025's headliner, Chappell Roan, stunned festival goers with a tour de force performance. Organisers announced that, for the first time in 25 years, the headliners are exclusively British and Irish acts. Over this year's August bank holiday weekend, Irish rockers Fontaines DC, electronic duo Chase & Status and singer Florence + The Machine will also be playing.
In fact, over the past few months, social media users have suggested a connection between the summer album and the viral mascot, noting their similar shade of green and the company's history of embracing Gen-Z trends. When the opportunity to collaborate-directly or indirectly-with a massive trend arises, brands are quick to respond. The language-learning company used a color association strategy, linking the color of Charli's Brat album cover to that of their mascot