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Vroom Vroom (EP)

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Vroom Vroom
A black sports car on a black background with the lights on with the letters "XCX" labeled on the hood of the car.
EP by
Charli XCX
Released26 February 2016 (2016-02-26)
Recorded2015
Genre
Length12:19
Label
Producer
Charli XCX chronology
Sucker
(2014) 		Vroom Vroom
(2016) 		Number 1 Angel
(2017)

Vroom Vroom is the second extended play by English singer Charli XCX, released on 26 February 2016 by Vroom Vroom Recordings.[2][3] It features production work from Scottish producer Sophie.[4]

The EP's experimental pop sound divided critics and fans upon release but accrued a cult following, and has been retrospectively credited as a pioneering work in what would later be termed the hyperpop movement.[5][6]

Background and release

In July 2015, in an interview with British fashion magazine i-D, Charli XCX said that she was working on her third album and described it as "the most pop thing, and the most electronic thing" she had done.[7] Scottish producer Sophie was confirmed to be involved in the album's production. In October 2015, Charli XCX released "Vroom Vroom", which was the first song released from the EP, on the Beats 1 Radio Show, then claiming it would be the first song released from her third studio album.

On 23 February 2016, it was announced that Charli XCX had set up a new record label, Vroom Vroom Recordings, and that she would release an EP titled Vroom Vroom on 27 February 2016. The second song released from the EP, titled "Trophy", received its first play on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show on that night.[2] Charli XCX will also host her own Beats 1 show fortnightly.[8]

Charli XCX released a music video for the song "Vroom Vroom" on 22 April 2016 via Apple Music.[9] On 27 May 2016, an autographed vinyl version of the EP was released in a limited run of 1,000 copies by Warner Music.[10]

On 29 August 2020, 2,000 copies of the EP were released on transparent vinyl for Record Store Day.[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
Drowned in Sound5/10[13]
Exclaim!6/10[14]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[15]
Pitchfork4.5/10[16]
Resident Advisor[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
Spin8/10[19]
Tiny Mix Tapes[20]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 64, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on nine reviews.[21]

Spin gave the album a favorable review, stating that, "Vroom Vroom is scintillating new ground for Charli, totally unlike anything she's ever done before, and still quintessentially her in its streamlined, indomitable turbo-pop."[19] Tiny Mix Tapes wrote "this is pop music reinventing itself, reasserting its autonomy", describing Sophie's production as "like liquid metal or maybe the noise equivalent of non-Euclidean geometry."[20] The Line of Best Fit wrote that the album "sounds like a kind of nihilist, amphetamine laden rebellion; A mish mash of poppy melodies, rap, trap beats and doom ridden synth which, though on paper sounds like chaos, is clearly painstakingly curated."[15]

Ian Gormely of Exclaim! praised "Paradise" as the "standout" track, but criticized Sophie's utilisation of vocals "across the entire EP" and expressed that the compatibility of Charli and Sophie ranged from "unstoppable" to "shoehorned". Gormely concluded that "there's enough that works on Vroom Vroom to hope that it's the beginning of something much bigger".[14] Drowned in Sound's Lee Adcock compared the EP positively to Charli's previous album Sucker, but criticized its usage of "pre-established styles of other black artists" to create "PG-rated, glittery sketches of excess bling and forbidden love".[13] In April 2022, Clash's Ruby Carter characterized the EP as a "blueprint for bubblegum pop" that cemented Charli's "vision for Charli 2.0 and a predecessor for her more experimental work on Pop 2, Charli, and How I'm Feeling Now."[22]

In a negative review for Pitchfork, Laura Snapes wrote that "no one is being done any favors reducing Charli XCX to a vapid cypher, particularly as it drains her vivid personality from the work".[16] However, in November 2019, Snapes expressed regret about her review, tweeting that she would like to "publicly disavow the nonsense" she wrote about the EP.[23] In October 2021, Pitchfork included it in their "Rescored" list, with Cat Zhang suggesting an adjustment of the EP's score from 4.5 to 7.8, retrospectively claiming that, "[a]t the time, many critics seemed to be paranoid about PC Music's motives. Nervous that they'd be bamboozled, they obsessed over whether a pop experiment was either satire or sincere."[24]

Track listing

Vroom Vroom[25]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Vroom Vroom"
  • Sophie
  • Martin Stilling[a]
  • Patrik Berger[a]
3:13
2."Paradise" (featuring Hannah Diamond)
3:01
3."Trophy"
  • Aitchison
  • Xeon
  • Bao
  • Warner
  • Berger
2:39
4."Secret (Shh)"
  • Sophie
  • Harsh
3:25
Total length:12:18

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a vocal producer
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • "Trophy" contains an audio snippet from the motion picture Pulp Fiction performed by Uma Thurman[26]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[25]

Charts

Vroom Vroom (single)

Chart (2016) Peak
position
UK Vinyl Singles (OCC)[27] 1
UK Physical Singles Chart (OCC)[28] 2

Vroom Vroom EP

Chart (2016) Peak
position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[29] 2

References

  1. ^ Knopper, Steve (19 March 2016). "Charli XCX Explores New Avant-Pop Direction with Sophie at SXSW". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Charli XCX Hoists New Track 'Trophy,' Preps 'Vroom Vroom' EP". Rolling Stone.
  3. ^ "Charli XCX unveils 'Vroom Vroom' EP and announces new record label". NME.
  4. ^ Lee, Morgan. "StreamCharli XC's Sophie-produced Vroom Vroom EP. Fact.
  5. ^ Droke, Carolyn (5 October 2021). "Charli XCX Had A Succinct Response To Pitchfork Re-Scoring Her 2016 'Vroom Vroom' EP". Uproxx.
  6. ^ Murphy, Sam (26 February 2021). "Five Years On, Charli XCX & SOPHIE's 'Vroom Vroom' Still Sounds Like The Future". Junkee.
  7. ^ "Seven Minutes with Charli XCX". i-D magazine. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Charli XCX". Atlantic Records.
  9. ^ Carley, Brennan (22 April 2016). "Charli XCX's Video Is Sleek, Sensational, and Star-Making". Spin. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  10. ^ "Vroom Vroom Vinyl EP (Autographed)". Warner Music Store. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Charli XCX - Record Store Day". Record Store Day.
  12. ^ "Vroom Vroom [EP] – Charli XCX". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  13. ^ a b Adcock, Lee. "Ep Review: Charli XCX – Vroom Vroom". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  14. ^ a b Gormely, Ian (28 March 2016). "Charli XCX Vroom Vroom". Exclaim!. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  15. ^ a b Smith, Emma (24 March 2016). "Vroom Vroom by Charli XCX – EP Review". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  16. ^ a b Snapes, Laura (23 March 2016). "Charli XCX: Vroom Vroom". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  17. ^ "RA Reviews: Charli XCX – Vroom Vroom". Resident Advisor. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Charli XCX 'Vroom Vroom' review". Rolling Stone. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  19. ^ a b Unterberger, Andrew (2 March 2016). "Review: Charli XCX Speeds to Her Next Career Checkpoint on the 'Vroom Vroom' EP". Spin. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  20. ^ a b David, S. "Charli XCX – Vroom Vroom [EP]". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  21. ^ "Vroom Vroom Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  22. ^ Carter, Ruby (15 April 2022). "Charli XCX: Her 17 Best Songs". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  23. ^ Snapes, Laura [@laurasnapes] (2 November 2019). "also would like to take this opportunity to publicly disavowed the nonsense I wrote about vroom vroom" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Pitchfork Reviews: Rescored". Pitchfork. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Credits / Vroom Vroom / Charli XCX". Tidal. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  26. ^ Empire, Kitty (23 April 2017). "Charli XCX review – sugar, smut and smart pop philosophy". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  27. ^ "Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  29. ^ "Charli XCX Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
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