Rob Sheffield’s review sees Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat as more than a promotional remix collection: it works as a high-energy album in its own right, carrying the original Brat into what he calls “Brat Autumn.” Its defining move is to bring a wide range of guest artists into Charli XCX’s punk-disco pop world—and, at its most affecting, to turn that world into a candid exchange about fame, insecurity and self-image.
What Sheffield hears in the remix album
In his 11 October 2024 review, Rob Sheffield frames the release as an extension of Brat’s sound and worldview, not simply an afterthought to its parent album. He describes a party record driven by electronic pop and punk-disco energy, with Charli’s brash confidence often rubbing against moments of vulnerability and self-doubt. The result, in his reading, keeps the Brat moment moving rather than merely revisiting it.
Sheffield’s central idea is that the collaborators do not stand outside Charli’s aesthetic as guests on a conventional feature reel. Their voices are drawn into what he calls the “Charliverse”: a shared pop space where familiar artists can change the texture or perspective of a song while keeping its connection to Charli’s album intact. Read Rob Sheffield’s review at Yahoo Entertainment.
How the guests reshape the songs
The collaborations give the album its breadth. Sheffield cites pairings that stretch across different pop identities, from Robyn and Yung Lean on “360” to Ariana Grande on “Sympathy Is a Knife,” Caroline Polachek on “Everything Is Romantic,” Bon Iver on “I Think About It All the Time,” and Julian Casablancas on “Mean Girls.” Other combinations include Addison Rae on “Von Dutch,” Troye Sivan on “Talk Talk,” The Japanese House on “Apple,” Shygirl on “365,” Tinashe on “B2B,” and The 1975 on “I Might Say Something Stupid.”
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That range matters less as a checklist of celebrity appearances than as a way of testing how many voices can inhabit Charli’s musical language. The pairings move between dance-floor charge and inward-looking pop without abandoning the album’s brash, synthetic center. Billie Eilish’s appearance on “Guess” adds another high-profile exchange; the review’s most pointed attention, though, goes to two collaborations that make celebrity and insecurity their subject.
The emotional center: Lorde on “Girl, So Confusing”
For Sheffield, Lorde’s duet on “Girl, So Confusing” is the album’s emotional centerpiece. The song becomes a candid conversation about body image, jealousy and self-doubt—feelings that might otherwise remain caught in the performance of pop-star confidence. In his account, the exchange gives the track a perspective wider than Charli’s own anxieties: two artists acknowledge the discomfort and comparison that can shape how women see themselves and one another.
Rank #2
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This is where the album’s remix concept becomes more than musical rearrangement. A guest voice changes what the song can say. Lorde does not simply decorate Charli’s track; her presence turns private uncertainty into a shared admission, and makes vulnerability feel like part of the album’s public, communal energy.
Ariana Grande and the pressure of being watched
Sheffield also presents Ariana Grande’s appearance on “Sympathy Is a Knife” as a natural match for a song concerned with fame, scrutiny and online fan culture. Grande’s celebrity gives the pairing particular resonance, but the point is not just that another famous singer has joined the record. The collaboration brings the song’s attention to visibility and judgment into sharper focus, linking Charli’s self-questioning to pressures that extend across pop stardom.
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- Experience the iconic album with digitally remastered audio for enhanced clarity and sound quality.
- Features the classic hit singles "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and the title track "Thriller.
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Does it stand apart from the original Brat?
Sheffield’s answer is yes, while treating the remix album as a continuation rather than a replacement. The parent album supplies the musical and conceptual framework; the new pairings alter the songs’ color and, in some cases, their point of view. The guests make the release feel like a wider conversation around Brat, with dance-floor energy alongside reflections on fame, online life and self-image.
That distinction explains why the review resists the idea of the record as mere promotional material. A remix collection can be valuable simply for changing arrangements, but Sheffield’s case is that these encounters create a coherent album experience. The review does not establish a definitive track ranking or a consensus among listeners; its strongest argument is about the release’s overall personality and the emotional weight of its central collaborations.
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