Charli xcx’s “Wuthering Heights” encapsulates the burning flame of love in its eccentric baroque dance blend
Wuthering Heights album cover
Since the release of BRAT, Charli xcx has been tethered to the zeitgeist of the world. From political campaigns to Tik Tok dances, she’s been around every corner and thriving during every last second of it. With her latest project, she continues her trend of cultural relevance. Charli xcx’s Wuthering Heights is the soundtrack and score for Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”, which saw immense box office success in its first week in addition to non-stop discourse on social media. While Charli xcx’s soundtrack composes the majority of the music in the film, the Wuthering Heights album fleshes out instrumental tracks and shares longer versions of tracks featured in the film for a full-fledged record from Charli xcx.
While Charli xcx had some big shoes to fill, both due to following up BRAT and preserving the legacy of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, the Wuthering Heights album is overall a sonic success. While the record potentially strays slightly far away from its goals here and there, the infusion of contemporary electronic music alongside the classical, baroque instrumentation works perfectly throughout the entirety of the record.
“Chains of Love” is a perfect example of this combination. Alongside the desperation and the grotesqueness of the lyricism, the alternative synth pop sound blends flawlessly with orchestral strings that dance around the track. “Wall of Sound” continues a similar exploration of sound, especially demonstrating how excellently Charli xcx plays with space throughout the record. “Wall of Sound” feels capacious and empty all at the same time, creating an unnerving yet beautiful tension that keeps listeners gripped through every word. The lyrics themselves are pure poetry, as she pleads “Cause every time I try / talking myself backwards / Away from my desires / Something inside stops me, oh.” “Wall of Sound” powerfully combines the desolation and yearning of a doomed love at the heart of Wuthering Heights, signifying itself as one of the best tracks from the album.
In terms of thematics, “House featuring John Cale” completely cultivates the horrifying reality of a withered love from “Wuthering Heights”. “House” stands out immensely from the other tracks in both the nature of the production and performance. The song is much more gruesome than the other tracks on the album, merging together rich murmurs from the industrial and darkwave genres. The song opens up with a haunting spoken word performance from John Cale as the song slowly destroys itself from the outside in. Charli xcx’s vocals pierce through sharply, showcasing a powerful emotional performance alongside vocals lathered in distortion. The song is the perfect representation of dread and highlights the undertones that sometimes hide under the surface of the more upbeat tracks of the album.
A perfect example of agony disguised under Charli xcx’s signature pop flair is “Dying for You.” “Dying for You” stands out as one of the biggest stand outs on the record. Likely the most dance-centric song on the record, but it doesn’t stick out against its more baroque companions throughout the album. The upbeat groove of the synths and strings make listeners want to dance and sob together all at the same time through the inherent sense of yearning that really sells the track home. The lyrics only serve to further demolish the hearts of listeners, as she sings “All the pain and torture that I went through / All makes sense to me now, I was dying for you.”
The latter half of the record remains strong overall, but a few of the songs unfortunately aren’t differentiated enough from one another to stand out. The anticipated “Eyes of the World featuring Sky Ferreira” falls victim to this trap. The song is certainly nice, with smooth, sulky production with piercing vocals from both singers. Despite its good qualities, it just slightly misses the mark for what a new Ferreira and xcx collab could potentially look like.
While the last half of the album might slow down the record a little bit, Charli xcx’s Wuthering Heights ends on an incredibly high note. “Funny Mouth” is mesmerizingly terrifying. The warped synths and shrill strings feel ripped straight out of a horror movie soundtrack. The vocal performance is dark and passionate, showcasing a stark contrast between Charli xcx’s rich lower notes in addition to her floaty head voice. The latter half of the song blends together classic instrumentation alongside chaotic glitches for a hypnotic musical experience. The lyrics tie in together the instability and the fear instilled in the sonics, as Charli xcx sings “If there’s a light, don’t let it go out / Take it in stride, put your foot in your mouth / We’ll be alright.” It’s the perfect wrap up to the album and solidifies the record as an experimental yet veracious representation of Wuthering Heights.
While Wuthering Heights might not be Charli xcx’s most groundbreaking album of all time, it still remains an incredibly successful highlight that demonstrates the evolution of her sound; Charli xcx herself even exclaimed it to be “100% a sister of true romance” on her Twitter. Charli xcx continues to prove herself as one of the most talented and versatile lyricists, producers, and visionaries in the modern music landscape in Wuthering Heights.
There’s no telling what might come next for Charli xcx. On her alternative Instagram account “360_brat,” she made a post saying “the only reason i am where i am is because of you, seriously. Thank you for everything; for believing in me, for understanding my nuance, for caring. it’s been so special. I love you all so much! See you next time.” Fans have speculated that this message could indicate a hiatus or a deeper dive into film for Charli xcx after her A24 project, The Moment. Wherever she decides to go next, Charli xcx is certain to find success, always everywhere.