Charli XCX built True Romance around a simple idea: she wanted to sound like a girl group from the 90s, and she wanted that sound to feel new again. The record runs thirteen tracks, and it moves between moody 80s synth-pop and sassy turn-of-the-millennium girl group energy. It is distinctive and memorable, and it knows exactly what it is doing.
Track by Track
I Love It leads the album with a big synth hook, setting the tone early. You (Ha Ha Ha) follows with a lighter, more playful feel. Take My Hand slows things down, a ballad that earns its place even if it does not hit as hard as the songs around it. Stay Away is the first real standout, a track that critics singled out for its sharp energy and its hooks.
Set Me Free (Feel My Pain) and Grins keep the pace steady without adding much new. So Far Away and Cloud Aura are brief, almost like palate cleansers before the record turns toward its stronger material. What I Like and Black Roses are solid but easy to forget, competent without demanding attention. You’re the One is another track that stands out, a sly, confident single that fits the album’s girl group energy.
How Can I and Lock You Up close the album on a darker note, with the latter ending things on a strong, driving beat. The record’s best moments come in the middle stretch, where the girl group energy peaks and the hooks land hardest.
The Verdict
True Romance is not a perfect record, and it does not pretend to be. It is a confident, ambitious pop album that leans heavily on 90s nostalgia while trying to make it feel current. The songs that work — Stay Away, You’re the One, I Love It — are among the strongest of her career. The ones that miss are easy to skip, and the record’s shorter tracks sometimes feel like filler rather than full ideas.
But the ambition is real. Charli XCX is reaching for something specific, and she mostly gets there. The album is distinctive and memorable, and it holds together better than its weaker moments suggest.
Here is how the album breaks down:
- I Love It leads with a big synth hook
- You (Ha Ha Ha) and You’re the One are the sliest, most confident singles
- Stay Away is the first standout, and critics singled it out
- Set Me Free (Feel My Pain) and Grins keep the pace steady without adding much new
- So Far Away and Cloud Aura are brief, almost like palate cleansers
- What I Like and Black Roses are solid but easy to forget
- How Can I and Lock You Up close the album on a darker note
This is the writer’s own view of the record, not an established score or a critical consensus. The songs that work hold up, and the ones that don’t are easy to pass over.
- Nuclear Seasons4:39
- You (Ha Ha Ha)3:08
- Take My Hand4:26
- Stay Away3:48
- Set Me Free (Feel My Pain)3:53
- Grins3:53
- So Far Away3:21
- Cloud Aura2:44
- What I Like3:02
- Black Roses3:28
- You're the One3:15
- How Can I3:55
- Lock You Up3:31
