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Charli XCX Releases 'Rock Music' and a Gritty Black-and-White Video

The two-minute track adds distorted guitars to her electronic pop, hinting at the shape of her eighth album.

Overview

  • Charli XCX released the single and video on Friday, positioning it as the first public release tied to her upcoming eighth album.
  • The song blends fuzzed-out guitar and live drums with her chopped, electronic vocal production, and she has said the title does not signal a full rock pivot.
  • Aidan Zamiri directs the mostly black-and-white clip, which shows Charli strutting through Manhattan, chain-smoking, tossing hardware from a window, and leading a mosh pit.
  • Longtime collaborators A. G. Cook and Finn Keane are credited on the track, and her husband George Daniel appears in the band setup shown in the video.
  • The rollout followed a May 7 heel-on-guitar teaser and an earlier Paris studio snippet; a provocative opening verse (“We kiss each other, real incestuous vibes”) has fueled online debate about the new era’s tone.