By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Thursday 28 November 2024, tour runs through 18 June 2025

Setlist: 365; 360; Von Dutch; Rewind; I Might Say Something Stupid; Club Classics; Unlock It; Talk Talk; Apple; So I; Spring Breakers; Girl, So Confusing; Welcome To My Island; Everything Is So Romantic; Speed Drive; Sympathy Is A Knife; Guess; 365; Party 4 U; Vroom Vroom; Everything Is Romantic; Welcome To My Island; 360; Dancing On My Own; Track 10; I Love It;

Charli XCX describes her biggest London gig to date as a moment she’ll never forget after she duets with Robyn and takes a back seat during an emotional encore including the kindred spirit’s Dancing On My Own.

• Read on for reasons including how XCX absolutely convinced as an arena act

brat, the title of XCX’s new 6th album, was chosen as 2024’s word of the year by Collins English Dictionary for its new meaning of ‘characterising a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude’ on the basis of XCX’s work.

2024’s brat summer might be over but this run of UK arena shows sees Charli XCX’s star shine ever brighter as for much of this 100-minute show she entertains her fans alone on a stage, dancing on her own if you will, without both musicians and dancers.

She’s occasionally followed by a cameraperson to give live footage for the venue’s screens and, although this is a technique we feel is overused in theatre currently, it works well here because there is so little to see onstage elsewhere and XCX does like to suggestively play up to the camera in keeping with the lyrical thrust of her new album.

For those closest to the front there’s even an atmospheric understage area where some numbers are performed although we were about as far away from this as it is possible to be in this sometimes cavernous 20,000 capacity venue.

brat the album didn’t connect much with us initially and was outshone on its week of release for us by ELLE by Dagny which makes our 2024 shortlist for Best Album but it clearly resonates with an audience younger than us and more willing to sport lime green crop tops on a November night out in south east London.

We do respond however to its toying with the conundrum of at what point does a woman stop her career to give birth while simultaneously revelling in the brat spirit of hedonism and what it seems to have done is to bring focus to XCX’s work in a way that nothing else has before leading to it topping the charts in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

The last time we saw XCX live was at her last biggest London gig – 2019 in Brixton Academy – when we said: ‘It seems a long way from when we last saw Charli XCX in early 2015 in Brighton when the world appeared to be at her feet (although, as we learn from her emotional encore outpouring, Charli wasn’t feeling great about it and wanted to reflect herself better through her music).’

We’re alienated a little by the rave vibe and industrial beats but XCX’s voice is strong and she’s brilliant at establishing a mood triggered by single words like ‘girl’ and ‘party’.

She headlines Barcelona’s Primavera festival next June and we expect BRITS success for her in 2025 as well as a brat summer repeat.

In charts currently dominated by acts we love including Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, it’s phenomenal to have a British presence of the strength of XCX.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Charli XCX Tickets
• Have you seen a Charli XCX show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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