Hey, who here is still talking about or going out of their way to see the film, Wuthering Heights, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordie, in April of 2026? Yeah, me neither. But like an eternal BRAT summer, Charli XCX’s companion album for the Emerald Fennell-directed film is what undyingly endures, because even in her least mainstream pop-dominating ambitions, a Charli XCX stopgap “project” until her next proper studio album comes to life is still a really tantalizing work of art.

Like the gothic romance period piece lit it was inspired by, this one will appease the XCX O.G. stans who were drawn toward her darker energy during those early Nuclear Seasons, satiated by the black sparks of True Romance, and don’t mind when she deviates into the avant-garde (John Cale in the “House”, to bat.) Though Charli locks in with dramatic, reverb-swirling pop on “Always Everywhere” and standout “Chains of Love”, the freeform pseudo-soundtrack aspect of this effort opens the mansion gates for her to unleash her unconventional art-pop demons in theatric form through the pillowing layers in her “Wall of Sound” and the glitch symphony pulse register of “Dying for You”.

Add in a developing underlying storyline that suggests some creative turmoil involving Charli, the album’s producer and co-writer, Justin Raisen, and “Eyes of the World” guest vocalist Sky Ferreira, and you may find yourself revisiting this one just to unearth the signs of masochism beyond just that between Catherine and Heathcliff.

Highlights: “House”, “Dying for You”, “Chains of Love”

Charli XCX’s Wuthering Heights is available now on Atlantic Records.

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