On March 18, 2022, after a series of sprinkled singles through the last two years, Charli XCX finally released her long awaited fifth album, “Crash”, and its deluxe edition a week later, adding four additional solo songs. Charli delayed this album in favor of her fourth album, “How I’m feeling Now”, when recording sessions back in 2020 were canceled due to the pandemic.

Before listening to this album, I expected that it wouldn’t be too lyrical or meaningful, considering Charli XCX is a pop artist and what I’m really looking for is sound. However, Charli is an astounding songwriter who has written multiple top songs, and this album is no different.

The first and title track, “Crash”, is a literal meaning of what the album is about. This track is explosive and sets the niche tone that this album’s melody has: heavy with an 80s pop sound.

Following some decent tracks, the eighth track, “Lightning”, stands out. Off the rip, it’s an amazing song and her vocals are so good with an electro vibe to match the title. Definitely one of the top three solo songs off the album, next to “Crash” and “Constant Repeat.”

In addition to a great sound, the second track, entitled “New Shapes” featuring Christine & The Queens and Caroline Polachek showcases some great vocals and lyrics. It was a previously released single from last year in November. Charli mostly remains on the hook, Christine had an okay verse, but the real shine came from Caroline and her vocals at the end of the song. Her vocals are so calming and mesmerizing which creates a nice contrast to the old school sound.

The final track, “Twice”, concludes the album in a profound way. I remember first hearing this and thinking “This has to be the best song on the album,” thus passing the previous three songs I mentioned. This song is so good even though the hook was unnecessarily repetitive. The outro to the song is a slowed down vocal-heavy ending that I wish could have been its own song to just listen to it longer.

Unfortunately, the deluxe edition of this album, released a week after the original, adds an additional four songs that are mediocre at best. They still match the theme of the album and add new additional cover art that shows a more bloody Charli as opposed to the original cover.

Charli checked off every single box with this album; I’m even inclined to say that it’s better than Dua Lipa’s 2020 album, “Future Nostalgia”, when comparing the sounds. The deluxe is nothing special, scoring a 5/10, but “Crash”, as a whole, gets a 10/10. it’s so good and definitely worth coming back to.