When Charli XCX released her 2016 EP Vroom Vroom, it cemented the UK singer as a pop boundary pusher. The effort gained a cult following and became a precursor for the singer’s subsequent glitchy releases. But not everyone thought Vroom Vroom was the beginning of a successful era. Pitchfork originally gave the release a score of 4.5, effectively rating it a flop. But they now feel their original rating was a little shortsighted, seeing as Vroom Vroom was a pioneer of the now-mainstream hyperpop movement.
Re-working the EP’s original score (and that of a handful of other releases from other artists), Pitchfork has now given Vroom Vroom a 7.8. Alongside their re-rating, Pitchfork admits the original score was “homophobic,” based on the effort’s massive impact on the LGBTQ+ community. “At the time, many critics seemed to be paranoid about PC Music’s motives,” Pitchfork wrote. “Nervous that they’d be bamboozled, they obsessed over whether a pop experiment was either satire or sincere.”
When the news about the res-coring of her album reached her, the singer had a succinct response that boiled down most of the online discourse following the list’s publishing. Encapsulating her feelings about the EP’s new rating, Charli wrote: “Lol”
— Charli (@charli_xcx) October 5, 2021
Produced by the late Scottish hyperpop engineer Sophie, songs from Vroom Vroom are clearly fan-favorites, judging by a recent video she retweeted. At her live shows, the crowd goes wild over the bouncy chords, shimmering synths, and glitchy beats introduced on the four-track effort.
u guys are demons, this never gets old 🩸 https://t.co/GOzVETHxlA
— Charli (@charli_xcx) October 2, 2021
Read Pitchfork’s full roundup of re-scored albums here.
Charli XCX is a Warner Music artist. .