Brow Beat

Charli XCX’s New Song Is a Pop-Punk Gem

Don’t mess with Charli XCX.

Still via YouTube

If Charli XCX has proven one thing this year, it’s that she’s no one-hit wonder. She’s now had no fewer than three smashes with “I Love It,” “Fancy,” and “Boom Clap.” But, as anyone who heard and fell in love with her ballsy 2013 debut album can attest, it’s been a long time coming. As she preps her next album Suckerwhich is already being considered one of 2014’s best ahead of its Dec. 15 release—we’ve heard nothing but good things in the form of album tracks “Break the Rules,” “London Queen,” and “Gold Coins.” Her first album was heavily influenced by ’80s synth-pop, but as those new songs and her latest single “Breaking Up” suggest, the new album will likely draw more from pop punk.

Its video (premiered on Buzzfeed), which sends up a number of great movie bowling alley scenes (The Big Lebowski and Across the Universe, to name a couple), begins with a clip of her raucous “Allergic to Love” cover as she kisses her douchey boyfriend goodbye. From there, it explodes into all the things that make the genre she’s evoking so pleasing: a straightforward guitar riff, lots of chanting from her all-girl backup band, easy-to-memorize lyrics, and an impossibly catchy hook. If this song blows up on the radio, as it deserves to do, I guarantee you’ll have the “You say you love me/ Okay, let’s rock” line stuck in your head for what’s left of the year.