Charm By Day, Brat By Night
the duality of girl, angel of my dreams, and stars on the rise
Welcome, to hyperfix’d - a low-stakes publication where I share everything and anything I’m excited about with anyone who will listen - what can I say, I’m feeling very mindful and demure this week 😌 here with another round of music and media for the final fleeting moments of summer, is new hyperfix’d:
Guess, Charli xcx, Billie Eilish 🎧
Anyone who thought Brat summer was over could simply not be further from wrong - Charli xcx, very much feeling her power in Leo season, continues her memorable summer rollouts with another breakthrough single that’s taking monoculture by storm, featured in the deluxe edition of her album alongside three new songs. Guess features none other than Billie Eilish1 in the ultimate sexy, silly ode to hot girls everywhere, paired with a perfectly executed music video directed by co-collaborator Aidan Zamiri, whose visual storytelling takes satisfying creative liberty in its surreal narrative and world-building.
With Charli’s monumental industry impact showing no signs of stopping, I have never been more thrilled to see where an artist’s already pivotal career may continue to lead them. With its fast-spreading influence and online presence, Brat has become the defining anthology of the summer,2 and Guess is just one of the many delights it brings us this hot and sweaty season.
- you can read my full review of Brat here.
Charm, Clairo 💿
Clairo’s third studio album Charm has delightfully emerged as the essential soft rock album of the year, welcoming soft and sensual musings on platonic and romantic love, complemented by lush musical production full of worldly instrumentations. In Charm, Clairo’s old-school sound perfectly captures the esoteric warmth of live music recordings, as the album’s drifting, dreamlike tones make for an atmospheric escape to the psychedelic soundscapes of the seventies’ and beyond. Charm effortlessly layers melodious synths over sweet chamber symphonies and calypso grooves, finding finely tuned duality in the sweetness of its dissonance - the signature sounds of distinct musical influences, the likes of Dorothy Ashby, Harry Belafonte, and Casiopea, softly permeate from track to track, while Clairo’s timeless lyricisms find treasured stillness in the flurries of rushed, routine life.
Some of my favorite tracks from the album:
Nomad
Sexy To Someone
Thank You
Juna
Glory Of The Snow
Angel Of My Dreams, Jade 🎧
A star is (re)born in Jade Thirlwall, rising it-girl and solo popstar, who up until now was best known as one of the artists featured in the pop girl group sensation, Little Mix. Jade’s breakthrough single, Angel Of My Dreams, dares to defy all genres and musical conventions - a maximalist pop opera that instantly sets her apart from her industry peers, as she knocks it out of the park with a brilliantly executed, innovative hyper-dance track that’s rich and referential in its tribute to decades of pop history. A storyteller first and foremost, Jade has shared many of the whimsical references that were key in the orchestration of her grandiose musical vision - from the seamlessly interwoven sampling of UK’s first Eurovision winning single Puppet On A String, to vocals and instrumentations directly inspired by Gwen Stefani and Britney Spear’s iconic early aughts’ sounds. As Jade continues to deliver with new remixes and edits of the track, each one better than the last, Angel Of My Dreams is a club classic in the making - a complex, well-crafted anthem deserving of its instant entry into the modern pop girl canon. Jade delivers a genuinely cool, unapologetic solo debut - from here, the sky’s the limit.
Here are a few more female-led tracks I’ve been playing on repeat:
Diet Pepsi, Addison Rae
Dovetail, Charlotte Day Wilson
Fertile Feelings, Coco O.
Arise, Lynda Dawn
Trap 🎬
It may be a three-star thriller, but M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film Trap is the ultimate five-star comedy - starring a hunky Josh Hartnett in his prime, and father-daughter duo featuring Shyamalan’s daughter, singer-songwriter Saleka, the film’s premise is as ridiculously captivating as its imaginative visual allure - a trap to catch a serial killer, disguised as a pop girl arena tour. While last year embraced an all-in return to cinema-going, this year’s blockbusters have encouraged us to have fun at the cinema, going all out with larger-than-life vices, from Twisters and Longlegs, to now, Trap.
It should come as no surprise that Shyamalan is having the most fun creating visual spectacles that don’t necessarily intend to surpass industry prestige, but rather lean into the self-aware, heightened suspension of reality that blockbuster cinema inherently brings. Shyamalan’s masterpiece is made to be experienced with others, and on the largest screen possible - filled to the brim with twists and turns, some clever, some a little too convenient, Trap is a perfect blend of thriller, heist, comedy, and DILFs - keep doing your thing, M. Night Shyamalan! Trap is now playing nationwide in theatres.
Saturday Night 💻
With Saturday Night Live’s fast-approaching 50th anniversary, fanfare for the breakthrough variety show’s historic hagiography returns to the forefront of cultural conversation with the highly-anticipated release of Saturday Night, a coming-of-age biopic that recounts the real-time behind-the-scenes leading to Saturday Night Live’s on-air premiere. Written and directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up In The Air) the film’s newly released trailer gives us a first look at the rich ensemble dramedy, where the nail-biting pacing of Uncut Gems meets the high stakes of Succession and The Bear.
With the release of Saturday Night, I’m most excited to see a new class of young hollywood rise to stardom with their career-defining portrayals of comedy legends. Cory Michael Smith3 and Dylan O’Brien share uncanny resemblances to real-life counterparts Chevy Chase (booo) and Dan Aykroyd - Rachel Sennott and Kaia Gerber continue to prove their prestige as brilliant comedic character actors - Gabriel LaBelle, at just twenty-one, has portrayed both Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans) and Lorne Michaels on the silver screen. In the same way that Saturday Night Live first nurtured a stage for young talent to break through the industry, Saturday Night brings the comedy show’s foundational premise full circle, spotlighting a new class of talent whose bountiful careers are just getting started.
Saturday Night releases in theatres on October 11, 2024.
Charli and Billie have whatever those Australian and Lithuanian ‘breakdancing’ girls at the Olympics wish they had!
In the ultimately trivial yet highly contested race for Album Of The Year, Cowboy Carter proves to be Brat’s only real competition.
One of the most memorable standouts of May December - everybody moved on, I’m still mourning May December’s awards snubs.