An exploration of sound, through lyrics, production, and melodies, was one of the most prominent things that artists and musicians around the world have experienced during their time in quarantine, and Charli XCX certainly took advantage of this to create one of her most complex and unique albums, how i’m feeling now. 

Charli XCX’s, how i’m feeling now is the perfect example of an individual’s emotional thought process put into music. That’s because her lyrical progressions are exactly how she was feeling during the lockdown, hence the title of the album. 

The album does a great job at conveying simplistic feelings that one may experience in quarantine, and at the same time, exploring a completely different sound from anything Charli has created, and shifting the pop in the record towards a more industrial sounding feel. 

In “forever,” Charli does a great job at bringing her deep and meaningful lyrics about the peace in knowing her love won’t be there for much longer, and simultaneously having new, chaotic, almost suffocating, production that camouflages the depth of the lyrics on the track, making it the best one on the album.

“claws,” and “party 4 u,” are two of the more playful tracks on the album, describing Charli’s silly feelings towards another individual, while keeping the industrial vibe within the layers of the production. “Party 4 u” does a great job at expanding the lyricism, where it appears as if Charli XCX is almost spitting a few rap bars, but keeping the tone down to safely stay in the pop experimental category. 

“Detonate” takes a step back from the glitchy production vibe and skippy vocals that took place in tracks like “pink diamond,” to create a very catchy melodic tune that is easy on the ears and can be easily loved by all pop stans. 

The futuristic-modern vibe that the sounds and production of this record have can take a few listens to fully get used to, but Charli XCX’s lyrics and vocal melodies make it easy to want to come back to, making this record one of the best deserving pop-EDM albums ever released in quarantine.