Coming Home to Charli xcx’s ‘Wuthering Heights’

A lot has changed for Charli xcx in the past two years. After the bombastic release of “brat” propelled her into global superstardom, all eyes have been on her to see what she’ll do next musically. In true unpredictable Charli fashion, she followed “brat” with just about the last thing you’d expect: a baroque film soundtrack more akin to Florence + the Machine than A.G. Cook.

The result is “Wuthering Heights,” Charli’s first soundtrack album made to accompany the eponymous new film, both released last Valentine’s Day. Inspired by the 1847 classic love story, the film and album try to tackle the unanswerable reality of Catherine and Heathcliff’s love.

For seasoned Charli fans, though, this drastic shift is no surprise. Change has always been Charli’s nature, going as far back as her sonic shift from the bubblegum-punk “Sucker” to the experimental pop game-changer “Vroom Vroom.”

That being said, even the most veteran of angels — as her fans call themselves — couldn’t have foreseen the now-viral lead single and album opener “House” featuring The Velvet Underground’s John Cale.

It’s certainly a scene-setter, with eerie, out-of-tune strings giving way to Cale’s gravely spoken word. “Can I speak to you privately for a moment?” he asks to start the album. Between the sonic atmosphere and the proximity of his voice, the listener would like to decline, but finds they have no other choice than to listen on.

For all the fright, the album is instantly enrapturing, though “House” is a bit of a false promise.  The rest of the record is much safer baroque-pop in the line of “brat”’s “Everything is romantic” and its remix.

The album is, after all, based on the potential greatest love story of all time, which Charli said she studied in preparation. The theme is much more personal for the pop star, however, perhaps inspired by her recent marriage to The 1975’s George Daniel last June.

With this context, the album becomes a vulnerable glimpse into Charli’s view of love. The result, like its gothic reference, is as bittersweet as it is beautiful.

Even the most romantic of songs, like “Always Everywhere,” are tinged with tragedy as the singer navigates a self-sacrificial love. 

“Your name is carved where the wild winds have gone / Black flowers burn / Violent fades to grey / Still I hear your laughter tearing through the rain,” Charli sings with a Catherine Earnshaw-esque longing.

Even in the upbeat “Dying for You,” a bright dance-pop track, Charli can’t disconnect “pain and torture” from her ultimately fulfilling fate. Her lover is a gun to her head, a noose around her neck, a poison to drink, a sword for her to fall on, all of which she accepts with a smile on her face.

“It all makes sense to me now,” Charli sings, relishing in her destiny. “I was dying for you.”

In cathartic second single “Chains of Love,” which featured in the film’s trailer, Charli compares herself to a prisoner, shouting above overwhelming waves of synths threatening to overtake her. 

Fans quickly noted the track’s sonic similarity to Charli’s cult-classic debut album “True Romance,” long praised by diehard angels for its unique darkwave influences. Charli herself confirmed this conscious callback, sharing the track was co-produced with “True Romance” collaborator Justin Raisen, who worked on several other “Wuthering Heights” cuts.

Another callback widely anticipated by fans was semi-hermit indie-pop darling Sky Ferreira featuring on “Eyes of the World.” Ferreira, who released one incredibly acclaimed album in 2013 and has been scarcely heard from since, also featured on Charli’s 2019 self-titled album to pop fans’ extreme excitement.

The resulting track, in Ferreira’s fashion, is a heavy, grungy act of desperation, where the two compare their acts of love to being crucified for the world to see.

“You’re gonna love me like I’m already dead,” they ominously promise.

For all the melodrama, the record ends on the closest thing to a high note in “Funny Mouth.” Sonically, it resembles the haunting “House” more than anything else on the album, but the lyrics paint a different picture.

“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,” Charli sings to close off the record.

Although it may seem like a drastic departure, in this light, “Wuthering Heights” might be a homecoming for Charli, who’s only ever comfortable in change. Whether the light or darkness will carry into her next venture can’t be said. Knowing Charli, she’ll create new matter entirely.

“Wuthering Heights” is available to stream everywhere now.