Charlotte Aitchison’s regeneration from another serviceable yet underwhelming pop vixen to glistening apostle of PC Music’s electronic sect was an unexpected path, marred by trial and error on her label’s part, yet also a moment of genius, redefining the genre for Generation Z. Though it started with the Vroom Vroom EP, the arguable peak of her so-called “hyperpop” era was the indelible “Pop 2”, an apt sequel to pop music and the last Charli album to feature SOPHIE’s eruptive, anthemic wall of sound.
Beginning with a DX7 soaked throwback (Backseat), analogous to the pseudo Cyndi Lauper cover art, its a sweet retro sugar rush that carefully balances experimental bombast and catchy hooks. Aforementioned ear-worms continue with a SOPHIE produced track, the club-ready ballad (Out Of My Head), ecstatic dance bangers that I can only describe as sounding like a Paris Hilton vocaloid (Unlock It, Femmebot), brooding synthetic pieces (Delicious, Tears) and the phenomenal closer (Track 10).
It may be a slightly biased take due to the song’s sentimental value to me, but “Track 10” will always be one of my favourite songs of all time, with a special place in my heart. The constantly building, unresolved chord progression, rising in intensity with each refrain of “I blame it on your love” combined with the lyrics, earnest to the point of being haunting, was one of the defining sounds of my adolescence.
An issue I have with Pop 2 and a trend that became even more apparent in her later work (Charli, self-titled) is the somewhat shoe-horned radio hit tracks (Porsche) that forbid the album from fully standing out as a body of work with its own clear identity. My personal taste also doesn’t fully care for “I Got It”, as it brings out the worst in hyperpop with its gimmicky production and vocal modifications.
The reinvention of Charli XCX from mere pop diva lite to a cult star of PC Music’s forward-thinking collective was a rocky venture. Yet, the creativity contained on “Pop 2” demonstrates perfectly why it was worthwhile. Seamlessly blending pop with disparate harsh and polished textures, its a record that still has power today, seen in the one-thousand 100 Gecs clones on Soundcloud and the surprisingly interesting outliers such as Rina Sawayama and Dorian Electra, who have cultivated their own original sound from these influences.