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True Romance (Charli XCX album)

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True Romance
Studio album by
Charli XCX
Released12 April 2013 (2013-04-12)
Recorded2010–2012
Genre
Length47:02
Label
Producer
Charli XCX chronology
Super Ultra
(2012) 		True Romance
(2013) 		Sucker
(2014)
Alternative cover
In anticipation of the release of Charli XCX's sixth studio album Brat, the cover art of her discography has been updated on streaming platforms.
In anticipation of the release of Charli XCX's sixth studio album Brat, the cover art of her discography has been updated on streaming platforms.
Singles from True Romance
  1. "Stay Away"
    Released: 15 May 2011
  2. "Nuclear Seasons"
    Released: 20 November 2011
  3. "You're the One"
    Released: 14 June 2012
  4. "You (Ha Ha Ha)"
    Released: 8 February 2013
  5. "What I Like"
    Released: 17 May 2013

True Romance is the debut[3] studio album by English singer Charli XCX. It was released on 12 April 2013 by Asylum and Atlantic Records. Originally scheduled for release in April 2012, the album's release was delayed for a full year and had been in the making since early 2010 when Charli met with producer Ariel Rechtshaid in Los Angeles. To promote the album's release, Charli embarked on a three-day UK promotional tour in April 2013.[3]

Background and recording

[edit]

At 14, Charli XCX persuaded her parents to grant her a loan to record her first album, 14, and, in early 2008, began posting songs from the album as well as numerous other demos on her official Myspace page. This caught the attention of a promoter running various illegal warehouse raves and parties in East London, who invited her to perform at them. She was billed on flyers under the stage name Charli XCX, which was her MSN Messenger display name when she was younger. Despite the illicit nature of the gigs, her parents were supportive of her career and attended several raves with her. In late 2008, while 14 was never commercially released, she released the two singles "!Franchesckaar!" and double A-side "Emelline"/"Art Bitch", under Orgy Music. She has since frequently expressed her distaste for her music of the time, going as far to call it "gimmicky dance tracks" and "fucking terrible Myspace music". At the age of 18, Charli moved to London to study for a fine art degree at UCL's Slade School of Fine Art but dropped out in her second year.

In 2010, Charli XCX was signed to Asylum Records. She later described herself as being "lost". In an interview with The Guardian, Charli XCX said: "I was still in school, I'd just come out of this weird rave scene, and I wasn't really sure what to make of that. And when I got signed I hated pop music – I wanted to make bad rap music. I didn't know who I was. I didn't know what I liked. Even though I was signed, I was still figuring it out." She eventually flew out to Los Angeles to meet producers, and found it "wasn't working out for me" until she met with American producer Ariel Rechtshaid. They had a two-hour session and wrote the song "Stay Away". She stated that was "when things started to come together". Early in 2011, she was featured on the Alex Metric single "End of the World". She left during the second year of her degree course at the Slade School of Fine Art to focus on her music career.

In addition to Rechtshaid, she began working with Swedish producer Patrik Berger. He sent her two beats, and she quickly wrote songs for each, one of which became "I Love It" and the other of which became "You're the One". She stated she didn't end up releasing "I Love It" herself as she could not reconcile it with her sound but, in 2012, Swedish duo Icona Pop re-recorded the song and released it as a single featuring her vocals. The song became an international hit, hitting number 1 in Charli's home country and climbing to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013.

Composition

[edit]

"You're the One" has been compared to Siouxsie and the Banshees' 1991 song "Kiss Them for Me" and Charli agreed: "At the time, I was listening to a lot of dark pop, so I was inspired by a lot of the deep bass sounds. Sure, Siouxsie is there, too. We just kind of rolled with it."[4] Charli said for Coupdemain Magazine that her preferred song of the album is "What I Like": "just because all the lyrics are cute". She also stated that "What I Like" is "about me unashamedly celebrating having a boyfriend and being in love. It's about being so happy with someone, like they're your partner in crime. It's about not caring about anything else but them."[5]

Charli explained the meaning behind the album's title, saying, "Every corner of my own romantic history is explored on this record, so for me, it's very raw, it's very honest, and it's very true."[3] The majority of the album's tracks were previously released on the You're the One EP, and through the Heartbreaks and Earthquakes and Super Ultra mixtapes. The album is named after Tony Scott's 1993 film of the same name, which is sampled on "Velvet Dreaming" from the Super Ultra mixtape.

Release and promotion

[edit]

In May and November 2011, she released the singles "Stay Away" and "Nuclear Seasons" respectively, and gained attention from music website Pitchfork, where she earned "Best New Track" accolades for both; the former was eventually named to the site's "Best Tracks of 2011" list.

The majority of the album's tracks were previously released on the You're the One EP, and through the Heartbreaks and Earthquakes and Super Ultra mixtapes.

On 9 April 2013, the standard edition of album became available to stream on Pitchfork in full.[6]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Fact[9]
The Guardian[10]
musicOMH[11]
NME6/10[12]
Pitchfork8.3/10[13]
PopMatters7/10[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
Slant Magazine[16]
Spin7/10[17]

True Romance received generally positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 18 reviews.[7] Pitchfork's Marc Hogan wrote that Charli "pull[s] from moody 80s synth-pop, sassy turn-of-the-millennium girl groups, and state-of-the-art contemporary producers to create something distinctive and immediately memorable", concluding that she "stamps her personality across the entire project, and True Romance suggests she'll be worth following for a while."[13] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian found the album to be "surprisingly oddball and packed with production quirks that often resemble a smoothed-off Grimes", adding that "while there's still the odd remnant of Marina-lite pop, this sounds like an imminent star steadily staking a claim to her own turf."[10]

Heather Phares of AllMusic noted that Charli "has a flair for combining a wide array of pop culture sources into something fresh and familiar, as well as a fondness for strong female characters." Phares continued, "Since quite a few of these songs were already road-tested, it's not surprising that this is a strong debut, but just how consistently catchy and personal True Romance is might raise a few eyebrows."[8] Spin's Puja Patel viewed True Romance as "a strident departure from those frivolities so far as solid, true-to-aim songwriting is concerned, but the divergence and a touch of the silliness remains: Goth, she is not. Dramatic? A bit. Complicated? Like every budding pop starlet. Defiant? Absolutely."[17] Despite stating that the album "is confusing at times and will most definitely require multiple listens", Enio Chiola of PopMatters opined that Charli is "the fun pop you don't have to be embarrassed about listening to, and she's definitely worth focusing your attention. True Romance is certainly the true beginning of an illustrious career."[14] Lauren Martin of Fact commented, "Love, lust and longing are chronicled and dissected in True Romance through online relationships being gradually given tangible, tactile form, setting Charli up as a young pop star to be reckoned with."[9] Rolling Stone critic Will Hermes described True Romance as "the pop-album equivalent of a wicked Tumblr".[15]

In a mixed review, Nick Levine of NME felt that although the album "begins strongly" with "Nuclear Seasons" and "You (Ha Ha Ha)", the songs eventually "become samey and Charli [...] shoves some kind of speak-rap into almost every track", concluding, "At the moment, her music is best consumed in blog-sized chunks, not as a stodgy 48-minute album."[12] Similarly, John Murphy of musicOMH expressed that "[t]here's much to enjoy on True Romance, although it's probably best sampled in small doses as it doesn't hang together that successfully over the course of an album."[11] Paula Mejia of Consequence of Sound dismissed the album as "a valiant attempt that doesn't do much more than provide the soundtrack for 'getting ready to go out' songs on tinny laptop speakers."[18] Slant Magazine's Kevin Liedel criticised the album as "a little too slickly produced and self-aware to deliver the kind of spontaneous creativity or carefree chic that Charli XCX aims for", while dubbing its music "almost incidental, a postscript to the larger brand, confirming that whoever 'Charli XCX' actually is, she's more product than artist."[16]

Commercial performance

[edit]

True Romance debuted at number 85 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 1,241 copies in its first week. By February 2015, the album had sold 6,302 copies in the United Kingdom.[19] In the United States, it entered the Heatseekers Albums chart at number five,[20] and fell to number 22 the following week.[21] The album had sold 12,000 copies in the US as of May 2014.[22] True Romance debuted and peaked at number 11 on the ARIA Hitseekers chart in Australia.[23]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Nuclear Seasons"
Rechtshaid4:38
2."You (Ha Ha Ha)"
3:08
3."Take My Hand"
  • Aitchison
  • Rechtshaid
  • Raisen
Rechtshaid4:26
4."Stay Away"
  • Aitchison
  • Rechtshaid
Rechtshaid3:48
5."Set Me Free (Feel My Pain)"
  • Tikovoi
  • Rechtshaid
3:53
6."Grins"
3:53
7."So Far Away"
3:21
8."Cloud Aura" (featuring Brooke Candy)
  • Aitchison
  • Joseph Zucco
  • Candy
  • J£zus Million
  • Aslet[a]
2:44
9."What I Like"
  • Aitchison
  • Zucco
  • J£zus Million
  • Aslet[a]
3:02
10."Black Roses"
  • Aitchison
  • Rechtshaid
  • Raisen
Rechtshaid3:28
11."You're the One"
  • Aitchison
  • Patrik Berger
  • Berger
  • Rechtshaid[b]
3:15
12."How Can I"
  • Aitchison
  • Rechtshaid
  • Raisen
Rechtshaid3:55
13."Lock You Up"
  • Aitchison
  • Rechtshaid
Rechtshaid3:31
Total length:47:02
Digital deluxe edition bonus tracks[24]
No.TitleLength
14."You (Ha Ha Ha)" (Burns' Violet Cloud Version)5:04
15."You're the One" (Odd Future's The Internet Remix) (featuring Mike G)2:59
16."You (Ha Ha Ha)" (Goldroom Remix)6:45
17."Stay Away" (T. Williams Remix)5:18
18."You're the One" (Blood Orange Remix)4:16
19."You (Ha Ha Ha)" (MS MR Remix)3:46
20."Nuclear Seasons" (Balam Acab Remix)4:46
21."You're the One" (Climbers Remix)3:20
22."Stay Away" (Salem's Angel Remix)5:01
23."Nuclear Seasons" (Hackman Remix)4:34
24."You're the One" (Loadstar Remix)5:03
25."You're the One" (St. Lucia Remix)4:21
26."You (Ha Ha Ha)" (Lindstrøm Remix) (pre-order only)7:21
27."Nuclear Seasons" (Night Plane Remix) (pre-order only)4:44
28."You (Ha Ha Ha)" (Melé Remix) (pre-order only)3:59
29."You're the One" (Deadboy Remix) (pre-order only)5:12
Total length:2:06:31

Notes

  • ^a signifies a vocal producer
  • ^b signifies an additional producer
  • On the digital edition and vinyl repress of the album, "Set Me Free" is titled "Set Me Free (Feel My Pain)".[25][26]

Sample credits

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of True Romance.[27]

Musicians

[edit]
  • Charli XCX – vocals
  • Tom Boddy – additional programming (track 2); album remixes
  • Andrew Wilkinson – additional programming (tracks 2, 6)
  • Dimitri Tikovoi – programming (track 5)
  • Louise Burns – additional vocals (track 6)
  • Brooke Candy – vocals (track 8)
  • Hal Ritson – additional keyboards, programming (track 9)
  • Richard Adlam – additional keyboards, programming (track 9)
  • Miriam Stockley – additional backing vocals (track 9)

Technical

[edit]
  • Ariel Rechtshaid – production (tracks 1, 3–5, 10, 12, 13); additional production (track 11)
  • Rich Costey – mixing (tracks 1, 4, 11)
  • Chris Kasych – mixing assistance, Pro Tools engineering (tracks 1, 4, 11)
  • Jocke Åhlund – production (track 2)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – vocal production (track 2); mixing (tracks 2, 3, 5)
  • Matty Green – mixing assistance (tracks 2, 3, 5)
  • David Emery – mixing assistance (track 3)
  • Dimitri Tikovoi – production (track 5)
  • Blood Diamonds – production (track 6)
  • Dan Aslet – vocal production (tracks 6–9); mixing (track 8)
  • Neil Comber – mixing (tracks 6, 7, 9, 10, 12)
  • Paul White – production (track 7)
  • J£zus Million – production (tracks 8, 9); mixing (track 8)
  • Patrik Berger – production (track 11)
  • Dave Bascombe – mixing (track 13)
  • Stuart Hawkes – mastering
  • Jeremy Cooper – editing

Artwork

[edit]
  • Andy Hayes – design
  • Dan Curwin – photography

Charts

[edit]
2013 weekly chart performance for True Romance
Chart (2013) Peak
position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[23] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 85
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[29] 5
2023 weekly chart performance for True Romance
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Vinyl Albums (ARIA)[30] 17
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[31] 15
Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 7
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[33] 36

Release history

[edit]
Release history and formats for True Romance
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Ireland 12 April 2013
[34][35]
Netherlands Warner [36][37]
United Kingdom 15 April 2013
  • Asylum
  • Atlantic
 [3][38]
Canada 16 April 2013 Warner [39][40]
United States Iamsound [41][42]
Australia 19 April 2013 Warner [43][44]
Germany 31 May 2013 [45][46]
Canada 13 August 2013 LP [47]
United States Iamsound [48]
Brazil 14 October 2016 CD Warner [49]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cragg, Michael (27 December 2014). "The playlist: the best pop of 2014, with Charli XCX and Taylor Swift". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  2. ^ Ugwu, Reggie (28 August 2013). "Independent Study: IAMSOUND Records". Billboard. Archived from the original on 29 August 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Snapes, Laura (26 February 2013). "Charli XCX Announces Debut Album, True Romance". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  4. ^ Bosso, Joe (20 November 2013). "Charli XCX talks songwriting, samples and her debut album, True Romance". MusicRadar. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  5. ^ Graves, Shahlin (12 June 2013). "Interview: Charli XCX on her debut album, 'True Romance'". Coupdemain. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Charli XCX: True Romance | Advance". Pitchfork. 9 April 2013. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Reviews for True Romance by Charli XCX". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  8. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "True Romance – Charli XCX". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  9. ^ a b Martin, Lauren (16 April 2013). "Charli XCX True Romance". Fact. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  10. ^ a b Nicholson, Rebecca (11 April 2013). "Charli XCX: True Romance – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  11. ^ a b Murphy, John (11 April 2013). "Charli XCX – True Romance". musicOMH. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  12. ^ a b Levine, Nick (19 April 2013). "Charli XCX – 'True Romance'". NME. Archived from the original on 27 April 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  13. ^ a b Hogan, Marc (25 April 2013). "Charli XCX: True Romance". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  14. ^ a b Chiola, Enio (17 April 2013). "Charli XCX: True Romance". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  15. ^ a b Hermes, Will (16 April 2013). "Charli XCX: True Romance". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  16. ^ a b Liedel, Kevin (12 April 2013). "Review: Charli XCX, True Romance". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  17. ^ a b Patel, Puja (18 April 2013). "Charli XCX, 'True Romance,' (Asylum)". Spin. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  18. ^ Mejia, Paula (15 April 2013). "Album Review: Charli XCX – True Romance". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  19. ^ Jones, Alan (23 February 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: Imagine Dragon's Smoke & Mirrors LP reaches No.1 with sales of 25,675". Music Week. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  20. ^ "Heatseekers Albums – The week of May 4, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  21. ^ "Heatseekers Albums – The week of May 11, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  22. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (5 May 2014). "Charli XCX on Riding Iggy Azalea's 'Fancy' Wave: 'I Feel Valued'". Billboard. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  23. ^ a b "ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 29th March 2013" (PDF) (1209). Australian Recording Industry Association. 29 March 2013: 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013 – via Pandora Archive. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  24. ^ "True Romance (Deluxe) by Charli XCX". UK: iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  25. ^ "True Romance by Charli XCX". iTunes Store (US). 12 April 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  26. ^ "True Romance [Explicit]: Charli XCX: MP3 Downloads". Amazon (UK). Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  27. ^ True Romance (liner notes). Charli XCX. Atlantic Records. 2013. 825646462049.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ "Charli XCX | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  29. ^ "Charli XCX Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  30. ^ "ARIA Top 20 Vinyl Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  31. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2023. 22. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  32. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  33. ^ "Charli XCX Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  34. ^ "New Releases". Warner Music Ireland. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  35. ^ "True Romance (Explicit) (2013) | Charli XCX". 7digital (Ireland). Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  36. ^ "True Romance, Charli Xcx" (in Dutch). bol.com. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  37. ^ "True Romance (Explicit) (2013) | Charli XCX" (in Dutch). 7digital (Netherlands). Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  38. ^ "True Romance [Explicit]: Charli XCX: MP3 Downloads". Amazon (UK). Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  39. ^ "True Romance by Charli XCX (CD)". HMV Canada. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  40. ^ "True Romance (Explicit) (2013) | Charli XCX". 7digital (Canada). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  41. ^ "Charli XCX: True Romance". Amazon (US). Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  42. ^ "True Romance [Explicit]: Charli XCX: MP3 Downloads". Amazon (US). Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  43. ^ "True Romance". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  44. ^ "True Romance (Explicit) (2013) | Charli XCX". zdigital (Australia). Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  45. ^ "True Romance" (in German). Amazon (Germany). Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  46. ^ "True Romance [Explicit]: Charli XCX: MP3-Downloads" (in German). Amazon (Germany). Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  47. ^ "True Romance by Charli XCX (Vinyl)". HMV Canada. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  48. ^ "Charli XcX: True Romance (LP+MP3): Music". Amazon (US). Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  49. ^ "True Romance". Livraria Cultura. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
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