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Sucker (Charli XCX album)

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Untitled

Sucker is the third studio album and second major-label album by English singer-songwriter Charli XCX, released on 15 December 2014 through Asylum Records, Atlantic Records, and Neon Gold Records. The album was met with critical acclaim, praising its throwback style. Sucker was named the sixth best album of 2014 by Rolling Stone[3] and Spin.[4] Billboard called it the second best pop album of 2014.[5]

Background

On March 13, 2014, Charli XCX revealed to Complex that she had begun working on her sophomore album with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend.[6] In an interview with DIY Magazine she stated that she wrote the record for girls and wants them to feel "a sense of empowerment."[7] Charli explained in her tour diary with Replay Laserblast that the record's genre is still pop, but has "a very shouty, girl-power, girl-gang, Bow Wow Wow" feel to it at the same time.[8] She also said in an interview with Idolator that Sucker will have punk influences, listing Weezer, The Hives, and The Ramones as inspirations for the album.[9]

On 22 September 2014, Charli XCX announced that the album's release date would be pushed back due to the unexpected success of "Boom Clap" and needing additional time to "launch the album properly."[10]

Promotion

In support of the album, XCX embarked on tour across North America. The Girl Power North America Tour took place in the fall of 2014, from September 26 through October 25; it began in Orlando, Florida, and ended in San Francisco, California. XCX will open the European shows on Katy Perry's The Prismatic World Tour.

On 4 November 2014, XCX announced an eight-date UK tour, which will start on 24 March 2015 and finish on 2 April 2015.

Singles

"Boom Clap", the first single released from Sucker, was released worldwide on June 17, 2014. It is also part of the soundtrack album of The Fault in Our Stars. It is a commercial success, peaking at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart and number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has sold more than one million copies in the United States.[12] The song has sold over 200,000 copies in the UK and has received silver certification.[13]

"Break the Rules" was released as the second single from the album. The song and its accompanying music video were released on August 25, 2014.[14]

Promotional singles

The songs "London Queen", "Gold Coins", and "Breaking Up" were released on iTunes prior to the album's release date to promote the album.

The music video for "Breaking Up" was released on December 2nd, 2014. It begins with a boy, who plays XCX's boyfriend, telling his parents and XCX that all the girls in school love him. XCX, who becomes angry, breaks a glass and the song begins. The video was filmed in a vintage-style bowling alley.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[16]
Billboard[17]
Clash[18]
Entertainment WeeklyA-[19]
The New York Daily News[20]
Pitchfork7.6/10[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
Slant[23]
Spin[24]
USA Today[25]

At Metacritic, which assigns a "weighted average" rating out of 100 to selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a Metascore of an 79, based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]

In rating the release four stars for Rolling Stone, Will Hermes claims "Sucker is no retro gesture: Charli runs the album's rock & roll guitars and attitude through enough distressed digital production and thumb type vernacular to make this the first fully updated iteration of punk pop in ages... Like so many of the pop pleasures here, it's a sentiment that just never gets old."[22] Miles Raymer writing for Entertainment Weekly in an A- review, suggests "SUCKER is pop-punk, radically redefined and dragged, middle fingers waving, into the future."[19] A three out of four star review came from USA Today by Brian Mansfield, where he pens "On Sucker, XCX doesn't just tweak the ear-candy pop template, she blows it up, then pries the shiniest bits from the asphalt. It's still sweet once she's finished sticking it back together, but it's got a bit of crunch, too."[25] In a four star review for AllMusic, Heather Phares says "Sucker's mix of youth and sophistication is more than a little volatile, and sometimes it feels like XCX is still figuring out what really works for her music... Nevertheless, it succeeds as an introduction to Charli XCX the Pop Star while retaining her whip-smart songwriting and attitude."[16]

Dan Weiss writing for Spin, presented the album with an eight out of ten, suggests "Sucker is just an exceptionally good pop album... Those are rare enough as it is."[24] A four star review came from Slant, where James Rainis believes "Charli's sophomore effort, Sucker, is the sound of a long-incubating star emerging so fully formed on an international stage that it's difficult to figure that an artist gifted with so much sneering bravado was ever thought of as an underdog... Someone needed to author the aural equivalent of the body shot, and Charli XCX has provided the platonic ideal of just that: a party album charged equally with punkish rebellion, hip-hop cool, and pop universality."[23] Jamieson Cox for Pitchfork, who granted the release a 7.6 out of ten, comments "Sucker isn't an endpoint for Charli—she's already talking about her next record, inspired by J-pop and 'intensely weird and childlike'—and it's not her finest work, but it's plenty good enough to rope a cohort of new fans into what's promising to be one hell of a creative ride."[21] Jon Pareles, reviewing positively for The New York Times, emphasizes "'Sucker' is far more direct; it’s smart, loud, cheeky, gimmick-loving pop, intent on making every song go bang... The ambition and calculation on 'Sucker' are overt but not a deal-breaker. It’s a brittle, professional album full of sonic treats."[26]

In doling out a four and a half star review for Billboard, Jem Aswad opines "Perhaps more than any other young hitmaker, Charli has a sound that is distinctively her own, despite the murderers' row of producer-songwriters onboard... Sucker is likely to confirm that she's one of pop's biggest new stars -- and biggest personalities."[17] Joe Rivers for Clash, who bestowed an eight out of ten upon the release, notes "'Sucker' finds that same, singular performer rewriting the rules entirely, never mind breaking any, and beating pop at its own game."[18] Kevin Ritchie rating the album four N's for Now, ascertains "Finally, a top 40 album that attempts to capture the restless energy of recent times and spit it out in a way that doesn't just feel good, but honest, too."[27] In a three star review for The New York Daily News, Jim Farber explains "'Sucker' ends up monochromatic, but that only helps Charli hone a persona... She's the likable brat of the hour."[20]

Awards and accolades

The album was pegged as the No. 6 best album of the year by Rolling Stone, who says "Charli XCX is the pop star 2014 was waiting for: a badass songwriting savant who's the most fun girl in any room she steps into. The 22-year-old Brit came into her own with SUCKER, a middle-finger-waving teenage riot packed into 13 punky gems. It's a dance party, a mosh pit and a feminist rally – Charli's definitely in charge."[3] Spin called it the No. 6 pop album of 2014, commenting that "Charli's second full-length shaves off the densely layered atmospherics and dreamy soundscapes."[4]

Track listing

Sucker — Standard edition[28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Sucker"
  • Raisen
  • James
2:42
2."Break the Rules"
  • Stargate
  • Mac
  • Cashmere Cat
3:23
3."London Queen"
Raisen2:51
4."Breaking Up"
  • P. Berger
  • John Hill[a]
2:17
5."Gold Coins"
  • Aitchison
  • P. Berger
  • P. Berger
  • Hill
  • Stefan Gräslund[a]
3:02
6."Boom Clap"
  • Aitchison
  • P. Berger
  • Fredrik Berger
  • Gräslund
  • P. Berger
  • Gräslund
2:49
7."Doing It"
  • Rechtshaid
  • Rogers
3:48
8."Body of My Own"
  • Aitchison
  • P. Berger
  • Christian Olsson
P. Berger2:45
9."Famous"
Kurstin3:52
10."Hanging Around"
Raisen3:18
11."Die Tonight"
  • P. Berger
  • Batmanglij
2:51
12."Caught in the Middle"
3:01
13."Need Ur Luv"
  • Aitchison
  • Bao
  • Batmanglij
  • Wyatt
Batmanglij3:45
Sucker — European standard edition[29]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
11."So Over You"
2:49
12."Die Tonight"
  • P. Berger
  • Batmanglij
2:51
13."Caught in the Middle"
  • Benny Blanco
  • Young & Sick
3:01
14."Need Ur Luv"
  • Aitchison
  • Bao
  • Batmanglij
  • Wyatt
Batmanglij3:45
Sucker — Target exclusive deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[30]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Money (That's What I Want)"
Raisen2:06
15."Break the Rules" (Femme remix)
  • Aitchison
  • Omelio
  • Hermansen
  • Eriksen
  • Høiberg
  • Mac
  • Stargate
  • Mac
  • Cashmere Cat
  • Mikko Gordon[c]
3:52
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[c] signifies a remixer
  • "Money (That's What I Want)" is a cover of the 1960 song by Barrett Strong and is heavily influenced by The Flying Lizards' cover version of the same song.

Release history

The album was originally scheduled to be released on October 16, [31] but was pushed back to December 16 in the US, December 19 in Australia, 23 January in Ireland and 26 January in the United Kingdom and Germany. In a series of tweets, Charli stated that the decision was made due to the huge success of "Boom Clap" and hence she and her team needed additional time to "launch the album properly".[10] The album also received a revised artwork. On December 9, the album became available to stream in full via iTunes Radio.

Region Date Format(s) Label
United States 16 December 2014
Australia 19 December 2014
Ireland 23 January 2015
United Kingdom 26 January 2015
Germany

References

  1. ^ Raymer, Miles (December 10, 2014). "SUCKER Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  2. ^ http://www.npr.org/2014/12/16/370318970/charli-xcx-and-the-years-most-fabulous-pop-record
  3. ^ a b Rolling Stone (December 1, 2014). "50 Best Albums of 2014". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Spin (December 11, 2014). "The 20 Best Pop Albums of 2014". Spin. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  5. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (December 18, 2014). "The 14 Best Pop Albums of 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  6. ^ Charli XCX Talks New Album, Reveals Working With Weezer's Rivers Cuomo & Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij
  7. ^ http://diymag.com/2014/08/12/charli-xcx-in-the-studio-interview
  8. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc4A3hnbnWs
  9. ^ http://www.idolator.com/7499922/charli-xcx-new-album
  10. ^ a b "Charli XCX shares new release date and artwork for Sucker". consequenceofsound.net.
  11. ^ "Charli XCX - Timeline Photos". Facebook.
  12. ^ Charli XCX's "Boom Clap" Crosses the 1 Million Sales Mark
  13. ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx
  14. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABhDiXbUaBE
  15. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Sucker by Charli XCX". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Sucker - Charli XCX". AllMusic. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  17. ^ a b Aswad, Jem (December 9, 2014). "Album Review: Charli XCX's 'Sucker' Crowns Her One of Pop's Biggest New Stars (and Biggest Personalities)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  18. ^ a b Rivers, Joe (December 3, 2014). "Charli XCX - Sucker". Clash. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  19. ^ a b Raymer, Miles (December 10, 2014). "SUCKER Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  20. ^ a b Farber, Jim (December 8, 2014). "Charli XCX's 'Sucker': album review". The New York Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  21. ^ a b Cox, Jamieson (December 12, 2014). "Charli XCX: Sucker". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  22. ^ a b Hermes, Will (December 17, 2014). "Charli XCX's New Album: Sucker". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  23. ^ a b Rainis, James (December 14, 2014). "Charli XCX: Sucker". Slant. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  24. ^ a b Weiss, Dan (December 16, 2014). "Charli XCX, 'Sucker' Review". Spin. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  25. ^ a b Mansfield, Brian (December 11, 2014). "Review: Charli XCX's no 'Sucker' on new album". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  26. ^ Pareles, Jon (December 15, 2014). "Review: Charli XCX's 'Sucker'". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  27. ^ Ritchie, Kevin (December 10, 2014). "Album of the week: Charli XCX". Now. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  28. ^ "Sucker: iTunes.com: Music". iTunes. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  29. ^ "Sucker: iTunes.com: Music". iTunes.
  30. ^ "Charli XCX - Sucker (Deluxe Edition) - Only at Target". Target.
  31. ^ "Fall Album Preview: 72 Anticipated Releases, 39 of 73". billboard.com.
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