Vroom Vroom (EP)
Untitled | |
---|---|
Vroom Vroom is the second extended play (EP) by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX, released on 26 February 2016 by Vroom Vroom Recordings.[3][4] It features production work from English producer Sophie.[5]
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.[6] British producer Sophie has been confirmed to be involved in the album's production. In October 2015, XCX released "Vroom Vroom" on the Beats 1 Radio Show, which is the first song released from the EP, then claiming it would be the first song released from her third studio album.
On 23 February 2016, it was announced that 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.[3] XCX will also host her own Beats 1 show fortnightly.[7]
XCX released a music video for the song "Vroom Vroom" on 22 April 2016 via Apple Music.[8] On 27 May 2016, an autographed vinyl version of the EP was released in a limited run of 1,000 copies by Warner Music.[9]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Drowned in Sound | 5/10[10] |
The Line of Best Fit | 8/10[11] |
Pitchfork Media | 4.5/10[12] |
Pretty Much Amazing | C[13] |
Resident Advisor | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 8/10[16] |
Tiny Mix Tapes | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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 9 reviews.[17] 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."[16] 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, often precluding ready perception and identification and escaping non-hyperbolic description."[2]
In a negative review for Pitchfork Media, Laura Snapes wrote, "At times, Vroom Vroom recalls Britney Spears' Blackout, made in the wake of Spears’ public breakdown. Spears was always assumed to have little agency in her own work, and on that record she toyed brilliantly with ideas of autonomy and unwholesomeness, using sharp lyrics and sharper production to play with the idea of disintegrating identity. These same ideas underpin the PC Music project, and you can hear them at work on Vroom Vroom. But no one is being done any favors reducing Charli XCX to a vapid cypher, particularly as it drains her vivid personality from the work". Pretty Much Amazing wrote that "Vroom Vroom" bro might have worked had Charli written some better hooks, or actually put some effort into her raps, or just not rapped at all."[13]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Vroom Vroom" | Sophie | 3:13 | |
2. | "Paradise" (featuring Hannah Diamond) |
| Sophie | 3:02 |
3. | "Trophy" |
|
| 2:39 |
4. | "Secret (Shh)" |
|
| 3:25 |
Total length: | 12:19 |
- Notes
Charts
Chart (2016) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[18] | 2 |
References
- ^ Knopper, Steve (19 March 2016). "Charli XCX Explores New Avant-Pop Direction with Sophie at SXSW". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ a b c David, S. "Charli XCX - Vroom Vroom [EP]". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Charli XCX Hoists New Track 'Trophy,' Preps 'Vroom Vroom' EP". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Charli XCX unveils 'Vroom Vroom' EP and announces new record label". NME.
- ^ Lee, Morgan. "StreamCharli XC's SOPHIE-produced Vroom Vroom EP. Fact.
- ^ "Seven Minutes with Charli XCX". i-D magazine.
- ^ "Charli XCX". Atlantic Records.
- ^ Carley, Brennan (22 April 2016). "Charli XCX's Video Is Sleek, Sensational, and Star-Making". Spin. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- ^ "Vroom Vroom Vinyl EP (Autographed)". Warner Music Store. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ Addock, Lee. "Ep Review: Charli XCX - Vroom Vroom". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ^ "Vroom Vroom by Charli XCX - EP Review". The Line of Best Fit. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ Snapes, Laura (23 March 2016). "Charli XCX: Vroom Vroom". Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Review: Charli XCX'S Vroom Vroom". Pretty Much Amazing. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "RA Reviews: Charli XCX - Vroom Vroom". Resident Advisor. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- ^ "Charli XCX 'Vroom Vroom' review". Rolling Stone. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Vroom Vroom Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ^ "Charli XCX Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 April 2016.