Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat (alternatively titled Brat and It's Completely Different) is the first remix album by British singer Charli XCX, released on 11 October 2024 by Atlantic Records. The album contains remixes of seventeen out of eighteen tracks from the deluxe version of her sixth studio album, Brat and It's the Same but There's Three More Songs So It's Not (2024), but also features the original tracks, thereby serving as a double album.
The featured artists on the album are Robyn, Yung Lean, BB Trickz, Ariana Grande, the 1975, Jon Hopkins, Troye Sivan, Addison Rae, Caroline Polachek, Bladee, Lorde, the Japanese House, Tinashe, Julian Casablancas, Bon Iver, Shygirl, Billie Eilish, Kesha, and A. G. Cook. Cook and Finn Keane primarily handled production, George Daniel, and featured guests Bon Iver, Casablancas, and the Japanese House, among others, contributing additional production work.
Upon release, the record received acclaim from music critics, who considered it an innovative companion piece to the original album for featuring largely unreleased lyrics, going beyond a simple remix album. The track "Guess", featuring Billie Eilish, received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
Charli XCX released her sixth studio album Brat on 7 June 2024 to critical acclaim. A variety of remixes of its songs were released throughout its album cycle before the announcement of a remix album, starting with the release of the "Von Dutch" remix with A. G. Cook and Addison Rae, on 22 March 2024. Subsequent remixes of album tracks, such as "Girl, So Confusing" with Lorde and "Guess" with Billie Eilish, fueled rumours of a "remix concept".
Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat was announced along with the release of Troye Sivan's remix of "Talk Talk" on 12 September 2024. On the same day, Rolling Stone announced that the remix album is set to be released on 11 October 2024. The remixes featuring Billie Eilish and Lorde would be a part of the album's track list, along with the remixes featuring Addison Rae, Yung Lean, and Robyn, that were released as a part of the rollout of its original tracks. Skream and Benga's remix of "Von Dutch", however, did not make the cut. The timing of the album's release also coincided with Charli XCX and Sivan's Sweat concert tour.
The album cover was posted with the caption "Brat and it's completely different but also still brat - out oct 11" on several of Charli XCX's social media accounts. These postings also included a link to pre-order the album within various streaming sites. The track list for the album was officially confirmed on 7 October when XCX gave a fan the track list during her performance on the Sweat Tour in Orlando, and encouraged them to share it online after the show. She later confirmed this on her social media. The album is being sold as a double cassette, double CD, double LP and previously a triple LP. Kesha's remix of "Spring Breakers" was added to the tracklist on 14 October 2024, three days after the album's original release.
Prior to the album's release, billboards appeared around the US, Europe, and Japan teasing new collaborations, confirming BB Trickz, Bon Iver, Julian Casablancas, Tinashe, Shygirl, the 1975, Jon Hopkins, the Japanese House, Bladee, Caroline Polachek, and Ariana Grande for the album. To accompany the album's release, an installation at Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York was available for special viewing. Select fans were invited to the unveiling on 10 October 2024.
The album's vinyl re-release debuted at number 8 on the US Billboard Top Album Sales and number 5 on the Top Dance Albums charts selling 8,000 copies.
The review aggregator site AnyDecentMusic? compiled 8 reviews and gave the album an average of 8.4 out of 10.
Concluding the review for AllMusic, Heather Phares declared, "Much more than a victory lap, Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat enriches the Brat listening experience and the understanding of Charli XCX's artistry. Fans know she's deserved this level of acclaim for years, but the creativity and generosity on display here is more proof that it's high time mainstream finally caught up to her."
Caitlin Chatterton of Clash awarded the album a score of 9 out of 10, praising its innovative sound and artistic direction. Rachel Aroesti from The Guardian described it as a testament to Charli XCX's "unstoppable" creative phase, giving the album a perfect score of 5 out of 5.
Writing for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield expressed that "the Brat remix isn't just a piece of promo productâÂÂit's an ass-kicking party album in its own right", extending the phenomenon of "Brat Summer" into autumn. Similarly, Slant Magazine Sal Cinquemani felt XCX created a "self-reflexive reaction to her success with a companion piece that's just as relevantâÂÂand just as reflective of the zeitgeistâÂÂas its parent album.
The Daily Telegraph gave a mostly positive review, highlighting the star power of the album's many collaborators, but questioned if the myriad features was a "cynical marketing ploy [...] designed to go viral".
Note that these only apply to the remixes and not the original tracks.
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