Sucker (studio album)
by Charli XCX

From louisjwyatt 03/28/2017 21:51

This album has obvious flaws, but it's still a fun listen. Some albums just don't warrant serious criticism, and I think this is one of them. It's harmless fun, and I think Charli XCX achieved what she was trying to here.

it could have been way better. you can feel the punk energy at the beginning until breaking up, but after that it goes too mainstream pop and not good pop, y'all know? anyway it's still fun and full of energy, perfect for a sleepover

From paladisiac 12/30/2014 22:38

After co/writing huge hits for other kids, like icona pop's "i love it" and iggy azalea's "fancy" chorus, she comes back with a few hits of her own. Songs like "boom clap" and "break the rules" lead the pack of punk-tinged bubblegum pop with tons of cute sass to spare. I still prefer "true romance", but this album's almost as good.

A million leagues better than the initial singles would've led me to believe, Sucker is actually a lot of fun, as some very clever touches and the overall nineties vibe (particulary the power-pop, mallpunk and even some distant R&B and Riot Grrl influences) are quite bewitching, even if overall it only occassionaly has something more meaningful to say (notably though on Body of My Own). I guess the biggest complaint (beyond the gawd awful "Break the Rules", which plays to the worst of Charlotte's juvenile instincts as a songwriter), is that there's no discernible peak to the album, lacking the sense of grander ambition that marked some of her more impressive stylistic fusions on the admittedly less consistient True Romance. And perhaps at no point does the album truly break out of it's own clever little shell and makes a case to be something more than a fun jaunt through the modern world in a past generation's old clothes, but even if it's ultimately just a stop along the way for Charli it's still proof she can defy expectations and also have a lot of fun in the process, even if there's some hidden venom in all the sneering sweetness.

I don't think I have ever listened to a pop album where the singles would be by far the worst thing on it (well, namely Break the Rules and London Queen, I quite like Boom Clap). I agree with HoldenM, this doesn't properly start until Gold Coins at least, then just keeps getting better until the end. I'll never get what she was trying to do with the first few songs here, trying to appeal to edgy tweens? It's just dumb, honestly...

From HoldenM 12/12/2014 09:26

Certainly one of the better pop albums of 2014, but it doesn't get going until around halfway. All in all, a lot of fun, and smarter than one might initially think.