Charli XCX’s Brat follow-up is finally out, but it’s not the chorus of mixed reviews that has upset fans – it’s her choice of collaborators.
Music, Fashion, Film is the British singer’s latest album, declaring itself ‘rock music’ while still firmly using those familiar pop and dance sounds.
Days before the full album, Charli, 33, released the single Camera, complete with a film-style music video starring Vincent Cassel.
The French actor fits the auteur aesthetic the Apple singer is going for on this album; however, he is also incredibly problematic.
In 2023, he voiced his support of Andrew Tate, who has since been arrested on assault and trafficking charges alongside his brother.
Speaking about masculinity to The Guardian, he said: ‘There’s so many things he says, especially when you see his background, that come across as really wrong.
‘But in the middle of that, I think, he’s saying stuff that is actually interesting because he wants to defend masculinity. It’s almost shameful to be masculine these days.
‘You have to be more feminine, more vulnerable. But listen, if men become too vulnerable and feminine, I think there’s going to be a problem.’
In the same chat, he then added he ‘hopes’ he’s not a misogynist, saying he ‘surrounds himself with women’.
Vincent also starred in the biopic Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti, which some criticised as a rose-tinted look at the artist who is widely considered not a great guy.
The Black Swan actor has also raised eyebrows with his own personal life, marrying 21-year-old model Tina Kunakey when he was 51. They had reportedly been dating for two years at that point.
They split after two more years, and within months, he was dating the now 29-year-old model Narah Baptista, with whom he welcomed his fourth child last year.
He has also worked with convicted child rapist Roman Polanski in 2019, advocating for the art and the artist’s personal life to be separated.
Even if Vincent has voiced hopes that he’s ‘not a misogynist’, public perception among Charli’s fans appears to be that this is not someone they want to see her work with.
‘Charli, I adore you and all, but Vincent is a very bad person…’ wrote artist Solumeak on X in response to Charli’s post sharing the video.
Brandon said: ‘Crazy that you have someone who supports Andrew Tate in your video. So much for being a girls girl…’
Tristan simply begged ‘not him’ as Gabiii added: ‘A misogynistic man? I would say I’m surprised, but I’m not.’
Others accused Charli of being ‘edgy’ to a fault, while some said she simply might not have ‘known’ about the problematic past of her leading man.
On a since-deleted Reddit thread, After-Circada pointed out: ‘I mean lets not act like Charli’s moral compass can’t be questioned by some of the people she surrounds herself with .’
The singer’s friendship with Dasha, an actress who was dropped by her team after going on a far-right podcast, proved a sore point for fans.
There are also many who still feel Matty Healy and The 1975 – of which Charli’s husband George is a member – are yet to atone for his controversial actions on tour.
Charli and Vincent have not addressed the bubbling backlash, with many fans unaware of the actor and just praising the music video itself.
As for her album rollout, it appears Music, Fashion, Film is incredibly marmite, with reviews split between five and two stars.
The Guardian called it a ‘slippery search into selfhood that hits just as hard as Brat’, with top marks.
However, The Telegraph branded the entire album ‘ugly, vacuous noise’, adding her ‘bid for artistic reinvention is smothered by grating production and empty, self-conscious songs’.
Metro has reached out to Charli and Vincent’s teams for comment.
Metro’s Charli XCX Music, Fashion, Film review
Metro’s music expert Danni Scott gives her thoughts on Charli XCX’s new album.
Charli XCX declared she’s ‘making rock music’ and appears to have run through the fancy dress box of every possible iteration of that genre to try on.
While Rock Music has some very clear 1975 inspirations, elsewhere she veers more Riot Grrl or even a shoegaze indie sleaze moment. It’s chaotic, it’s loud, and ultimately it’s a little dull.
Despite hints of clever wordplay or attempts to dig into her insecurities, the songs often dissolve into a repetitive monotony, giving very little past the surface.
I had initially been intrigued by SS26, which remains one of the stronger tracks on the record, and there are moments here where she’s doing something interesting.
Magic Metal Montana feels like a happy medium between authenticity, rock edge, and Charli’s pop influence. Dedicated to her friend A.G. Cook, it feels like it came from the heart rather than insecurity paraded as a bid to be contrary.
But then there’s tracks like Wink Wink, released earlier this month and unable to break the UK Top 50, which is possibly the most egregious of this performative edginess, with Charli declaring she ‘f**ked your dad’ but not really.
‘I’m only saying that for effect,’ she adds. It’s jarring in a song confronting growing up and abandoning a wild lifestyle; I get the feeling she’s still a little too attached to that cool party girl perception of herself.
Music, Fashion, Film leaves you wondering what point this defensive, sarcastic house of cards comes tumbling down. I fear it might be now.
Verdict: 2 stars