Wuthering Heights

If you are wondering why an album from 2026 us on the list… It’s worse than it looks. Not only are albums added to the list that are less than a year old… Previous albums are removed! Which means you may have heard an album “before you die” unnecessarily. What will St. Peter have to say to you then? But, it gets worse still…. The albums that are removed, this time around for example, are all from 2001-2020, which divides into two more bad things. One, that the entire list is not analyzed with each edit (even though we’ve all had very mediocre to terrible albums from those earlier 40+ years, not to mention albums left off that shoulda been). And, Two, that this particular album from 2026 that you now “must hear before you die” could be (and probably will be) removed over the next few years. The person who runs this site is a saint. But the editor of the 1001 list is destroying his own credibility. Meanwhile, we now have 1100+ albums to work through due to all the different editions. Mr. Dimery should use all our reviews, and mine in particular 😀, to do an actual one-time edit of the list that makes sense.

I mean it’s fine but like come on man what are we doing here

i was pissed off at this from the moment i saw that it made the official list along with brat. they do this every time, where they pack the new additions with recent albums without giving them any time to marinate. and about why this shouldn’t be in the list: the first reason is mentioned above. the second reason that it is known as a movie soundtrack. “but mr punk,” i hear you say, “you rated Purple Rain a 5! that was a movie soundtrack!” well, the key difference is that Purple Rain is not known and remembered as a movie soundtrack, it is known as its own album. its a vague difference, i know, but it does still exist, and if you dont like it, consider the definition “must hear before you die.” now on to the actual music. i was further annoyed at the horrid scraping sound of the whatever-that-is, and then brought to a fucking noise wall as i listened during my statistics class. mrs. charles xander commotion xavier uses autotune in *every* song in the album except for the last one. that’s how you know its a good singer /s. i’ve never listened to this album before, but i swear i heard it on the radio in my mom’s car last year. finally, lets look at what the book says for why this album must be heard before one’s death. i happened to buy the book. i bought it with a Toxicity CD, and it was half of my paycheck. the entry, this one written by Bruno MacDonald (so dont entirely blame Dimery for this one), just goes through the making of the album, giving no insight as to what makes it stand out after the first paragraph. and you can most definitely find those reasons in a lot of other albums in the list, like American Idiot, The Wall, and To Pimp a Butterfly. also in the first paragraph: “Without a… pair of sunglasses in sight,” even though xcx gets two pages just for brat and the back cover, both of which feature an image of her scantily-clad and wearing sunglasses. conclusion: as an album it has very little merit, much less one that i must hear before death.

My first album back in the game after the release of the revised book, and it's a banger. This is exactly how an alt pop album should be, 12 tracks at 34 minutes, get in, kick ass, get out, and keep it just weird enough to pique my interest. Plus, I needed some British flavor after all the Canadian albums from the user submitted list.

Ok the Party Girl discovered Literature™️ and now we all have to Hear About It.

The more recent an album is, the harder it is to meaningfully assess whether it realistically has a place on the 'must hear' list. And this album is less than a year old. Don't get it twisted; I like Charlie XCX. I think she is one of the most dynamic and interesting pop stars working today, and this is an interesting and compelling piece of work. But it suffers from the problem that the movie of Emerald Fennel's "Wuthering Heights had; more style than substance. It is a big swing for the creative fences that became a pretty hot topic of discussion for a little while but doesn't really have long-term cultural impact. Even a year on, it has been overtaken by Carlie XCX's latest creative outputs. I would argue that this album has a far better hit-to-miss ratio than the movie, so let me say the things I like about it: - it's smart without being overworked. There is an idea here and I like that she has something different to say without going crazily concept album. - that she, she didn't forget that this is a pop album, and that means tunes and beats. Not as many bangers as Brat, but an acceptable level given the high concept. - it's short. I wish more pop artists would release 34-minute albums full of 3-4 minute songs. - those string arrangements are fantastic. Creepy, gothic, evocative - I like the sound design, which is tastefully weird, even though I wish critics would stop describing anything with use of destructive filters as "industrial". It's not. That's just what pop sound design is like these days. It's a good, smart pop album which makes sense in Charlie XCX's growing body of varied and interesting work. Will it be remembered as the highpoint of her career a decade from now? Is is a classic for the ages that will still be in 1001 Albums a decade from now? I suspect not on either count. But I enjoyed listening to it. 3.5 stars, rounding up.

This is a simple protest vote. It is ludicrous for albums in the current year to be put on this list. More ludicrous still is the fact that you have removed more recent albums (in the last 5 years) as you add new ones. If you were removing questionable albums from the 70s, for example, it would make much more sense. When the bulk of the removals come from your own recent additions, it makes your judgement questionable Sorry, Charli! The one star rating is for the list managers, not you.

I listened to this when it came out earlier this year and I thought it was fine. It's another baffling choice by Dimery. Why? Brat was the appropriate Charli xcx album. This isn't required at all. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

1.5 Baffling inclusion. This is not relevant today and it won't be relevant in ten years either. Doesn't have a place here.

Well made, but not my cup-of-tea... Also, I don't like that there's albums from 2026 being added. And 2 from the same artist? We're not even at the end of the year yet. Feels lazy.

All the great stuff that’s come out in the last five years and they pick this boring weird album. From a movie of arguably the most boring story I’ve ever read? I could list ten albums just from the past two years that offer more than this bizarre choice. Let’s see: 1. Foxwarren - “2” 2. Prewn - System 3. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - NO TITLE As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead 4. Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us 5. Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee 6. Guerilla Toss - You’re Weird Now 7. Jack White - No Name 8. Bill Ryder-Jones - Iechyd Da 9. Father John Misty - Mahashmashana 10. ah, fuck it, Angine De Poitrine - Vol. II Loads of great stuff out there. This was a lame choice, especially considering I fully expect them to also have added ‘brat’.

Hey, lets all listen to an overproduced pop soundtrack for an overmarketed vibes-driven nepo baby movie about nothing! Look, Wuthering Heights is a competently made soundtrack, but where is the innovation? Where is the delight and surprise at subverted expectations? The editors of this book seemingly don't do their due diligence by finding interesting underground acts, since they are clearly so enamored with including recent releases. I feel like 10 years should be the absolute minimum amount of time that has to pass before consideration for this book. Then again, how will we get kickbacks from Warner Bros? Separate from the movie, this soundtrack is fine but nothing here hasn't been done before, many times. At least Brat was Charli admitting she just wanted to make club tunes. That whole album felt genuine, this feels almost as vapid as the movie it was made for.

A big swing and a miss. Synth pop electro nonsense. Not one track would I come back to, far too flimsy. Hate the production too, wall of sound style (the name of a track on the album) but really choppy and loud. She sounds bored while singing.

Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Not Nearly as Fun as Brat

I listened to this a few months ago and genuinely don’t see why it got hyped so much. I liked that track with John Cale but possibly because I’m bias, but everything else just seemed a bit meh. I really want to like Charli xcx, and quite liked some of her poppy stuff from years ago (often have Body of my Own stuck in my head), but it just doesnt work for me. I’m jealous of people who love this, as they way people talk about it sounds like it should be great, but I just get nothing from it. Maybe in a few years I’ll try again and it might click. Or more likely I wont bother

This is a soundtrack to a period piece movie?! Okay. I remember the nonstop commercials to watch this on streaming. I had no desire to watch the movie or even listen to this or that it existed. She seems to be trying to hard to sound dark. Why the hell this is added is beyond me? Forgettable soundtrack to a forgettable remake, sure seems like it got tremendous staying power. It's not bad, I just don't see it as this thing I MUST listen to. It'll be removed on the new edition. If I were to nominate something in a similar manner. A Star is Born soundtrack. Co written by Bradley Cooper & Lukas Nelson (Willie's son) & Jason Isbell which featured Lady Gaga & other collaboraters. Pretty sure Shallow won the Oscar for Best Song & I actually remember it getting heavy radio airplay. Seems to be a bit more cultural relevant then this. 2

How can a soundtrack to a pretty badly received film, released only months ago be required listening? What am I missing here? Wasn't even interesting musically either. I'm hesitant to say it wasn't good, as I'm not sure I even know anymore, especially with more recent releases..... After 1090 albums you'd think I would be able to recognise something worth being on the list. Clearly not. I should not be so bold to assume that I can comprehend the musical insights of Mr Dimery. I just looked at the amount of listens this album has on Spotify. Apparently I am in the wrong. John Cale couldn't save this one. Soundtracks shouldn't be on the list, unless there's some exceptional reason for it. This is not it. 1 (I might come back to this when I'm less annoyed)

This may be the most current album I have, and it's a soundtrack? I agree with others, no shade to Charli, but how can you possibly know this deserves to be on this list?

Already been said a bunch. This record is too new to be on the list. And quite frankly, it's not good anyway. This record will 100% be forgotten my 99% of people by 2027. Such a shame. These are the world's most boring pop songs punctuated by loud soft dynamics to give the illusion there is something here. Spoiler alert though... There's nothing here. This is just regular pop. You've heard it 1000 times before.

I dig this album, especially House which was memed a lot but in the end is just a great song. However I really struggle to understand why it would be included on this list. Once again, including an album from THIS YEAR is absolutely mental to me with very rare exception. I agreed with Brat but this is just weird.

Two albums by Charli XCX added in 2026. This one is brand spanking new, too new to assess its relevance. It's a very different beast from Brat, so that speaks in favor of including both. On the other hand I don't think this deserves a spot in a book without Ennio Morricone and Saturday Night Fever.

True story: this was added today (the same day that Dimery removed The Mars Volta's De-Loused In The Comatorium; praise be to our noble dev for just adding, never removing). Another unnecessary take about the 1001 Albums list (not this site/app; great work!): editors shouldn't really be adding things to the list until they've been out for at least a decade, probably longer. I don't think we really understand the scope of what's important about an era while we're still in it -- and this album came out *this year*. Anyway, I'm in it just to hear new shit and I'd never have picked this up otherwise, so it works out for me. This is a soundtrack/concept album, inspired by/accompanying the 2026 film adaptation of Wuthering Heights by director Emerald Fennell. Overall, it's lovely and atmospheric. The beats (once again: I miss drummers) are fairly organic-sounding; they don't have the over-compressed, sustain-less sound that a lot of pop stuff has, nowadays. They do get fairly same-y but they're not the point, here. There's also a metric tonne of synthetic pads and some sound effects. They all contribute to the sense of longing and darkness that pervades this work. I feel like I should write more about the ubiquitous strings on this, as those players make up the vast majority of human musicians on the album. They're fine. They sound richer than the synth pads, but they're mostly used to the same purpose, apart from some creepy string scrapes, here and there. All in all, a competent and well-conceived record dedicated to Fennell's filmic atmosphere of obsession. On the other hand, there's something inherently empty in it. Charli xcx delivers skillful and lovely vocal work and her melodies are tremendously effective toward their use. I'm typically extra-critical of music built for the pop sphere entirely in a studio and largely with computers. It's the equivalent of cranking out widgets with industrial machinery at the lowest possible cost to make up low margins with high volume. I've carved out exceptions before -- some Madonna, definitely Kate Bush -- and I'm going to exempt Charli (xcx? I feel so old trying to refer to her simply) from my grinding axe, as well. I don't, however, have much interest in feeling these feelings without some level of catharsis. It's possible that the flaw lies with either Emily Bronte's work or Fennell's adaptation thereof but, never having had any interest in either work, I couldn't say. What I'm left with is the impression of an album that is a beautifully realized and faithfully rendered musical interpretation of something I don't particularly enjoy. So, I guess: 4/5. I don't feel the influence of this film or album in the culture that I consume but time will tell on that front (hint-hint, Mr. Dimery). On the bright side, they also added Blue Rev today, so I'll look forward to that. I don't think this is an essential album (I rarely do with pop) but it is a wonderful work of the craft. Time will tell if it says anything to the people of the future about the culture of today.

Me before listening to this album: I'm glad there's new albums on the original list, but serving up female pop vocalist after female pop vocalist is getting a bit samey, and it's hard to appreciate each one as an individual Charli xcx: Here's a gothic pop album based on a romance novel from the western canon that features a member of the Velvet Underground on the first track Me: I stand corrected 5/5 She is one of the most interesting people making music in these godforsaken days. I'm about to own this album. I'm actually mad that I still have half of it to listen to because I want to hear the first track again, but this shit is incredible

My rating here reflects ongoing frustration with the 1001 editors and not the album itself, which I would give 3/5 as a lovely, melodic listen that perhaps isn’t a key representative of the xcx discography, such as ‘how I’m feeling now’ or another major release. 13 new albums and two of them by one artist – this isn’t a Charli dig, it just seems to be a sign of ongoing laziness by the 1001 maintainers. Apparently no albums pre-2000 can be removed because it would require re-formatting the entire book. Are you kidding me? We just have to accept the plethora of dated, forgotten Britpop albums because the publishing house is too lazy/cheap to hire a format team? Ridiculous when you think about it, there are some absolutely incredible albums that have come out since 2020 that will apparently never get their due because it’s too much work to edit the layout. This is why the user list has been a breath of fresh air, seeing the many deserving modern releases get their due. There’s definitely some good additions in this new release, but taken with the necessary removals and stinking pile of dated, forgotten pre-2k albums it’s hard to feel like we’re coming out ahead here

I love Charli but this album is a baffling choice. Sure, it's good, but it's nowhere close to the most interesting thing she's done in the last 5 years.

Wuthering Heights is a soundtrack album by Charli xcx. I'm a big fan of her brat album. This one is the soundtrack to the 2026 film of the same name. Though it is still a Charli xcx album with beats and catchy tunes, this one is also much slower with atmospheric and gothic musical themes. The makes it a good album, but not as great as brat is and hardly essential.

Guys, this one isn't even a year old! What are we doing?! It's like they're not even trying to future-proof this list! Give these damn albums some to marinate in pop culture, okay? Of all the new picks on here, Wuthering Heights might potentially be the least necessary in relation to the other new picks, mostly because it's not the only album added for the artist in question. Yeah, spoilers for a later review, but Charli xcx's 2024 album Brat is maybe the only album added in the new update that is already 100% justified in being on this list, so to add the unrelated movie soundtrack that happened to follow it in addition to Brat is a weird choice. You know what's not a weird choice? Charli following up Brat with a movie soundtrack. It's hard to follow up an album that everyone loves, so a low-stakes movie soundtrack is maybe one of the safest ways to technically follow it up. Hey, if it's a good enough tactic for Stevie Wonder, it's good enough for any of us. Still, there's a reason why his Secret Life of Plants soundtrack wasn't added on the list in addition to Songs in the Key of Life, because that would've been just as weird, if not weirder than this. Okay, the rant's over. Let's talk about the album itself. Now, keep in mind that I have not seen the movie that this is a soundtrack for, nor have I read the book that it's based on. So, take this with a grain of salt when I say that this album is good, but not great. I haven't heard Brat yet, but from what little I have heard of it, Wuthering Heights is a major shift in sound and energy for Charli, which is always at least a little commendable. This album's a lot less dance-y and more... love-y? The film's apparently a romance movie, so I guess that makes sense. There are some interesting influences here. The opener "House" with John Cale of all people is almost industrial at some points. That's neat. There are some songs that are definitely closer to what you'd expect from Charli though, like "Dying for You" and "Chains of Love" that are also good. The album does kinda blend together a bit too much for my liking, but I'm sure they work in the movie. Do these songs even appear in the movie? I'm sure at least one of them does. The lyrics are a lot more serious than I expected given what I know about why people even liked Brat at all. Maybe this wasn't as safe of a follow-up as I thought. Eh. As long as Charli keeps making good music and doesn't do anything too stupid, she'll be fine. Overall, this album isn't amazing, but it's not bad by any means whatsoever. It's a good album, albeit a fairly inconsequential one for Charli's career and an odd choice for a list of must-listen albums. Glad I listened to it though. High 3/5.

I do love this very much. It's not perfect, they are some things I dont find all that interesting musically on there, particularly in the latter half of the record. But it is a soundtrack album, so being a bit forgettable at times makes sense to me. That being said, I like the inclusion on the list. There is a legitimacy question I get, but in regards to betting on what current music will still be impactful in a couple years, Wuthering Heights is a strong choice. Firstly they are songs that are great, Dying For you I truly love, it is inspired, quite different from the rest of pop music, but still very much a Charli song. It is catchy, it emotes really well but it also feels fresh and her thing. As a whole, the record is cohesive, (maybe too much actually, if that is possible) and the string experimentation running throughout is such a perfect choice contextually. Giving to a pop star coming of a huge moment room to play on a big classic of literature and just make something so different and so inspired, is a great decision and that alone is deserving of recognition. Of course, strings are a great choice to soundtrack a movie of the 19th century, but Charli specifically really rose to the challenge here. It is experimental in the best way, but still pop with all the big feelings that comes with the territory, it is modern while still retaining a timeless quality. I really am impressed with the balance of modernity and reinterpretation of the past and the universal in our history. The album feels like a fresh take on a classic of literature, (my very favorite book) and too many people brush over this, like that is not a daunting task, and I would argue a triumph here. Also, I do think that the music is probably the best part of the movie, and while the film has kinda come and gone, I agree that these songs are here to stay. To me, it is worthy of being here, cause if you pay careful intention and leave bias at the door, you may be surprised by exactly how great this record is on its own.

7/10 My first foray into the newly added albums (one day after they were added), this soundtrack of Wuthering Heights by Charli XCX is both better and worse than I'd expected. Better because I generally have a poor opinion of soundtracks, and though this was not a particularly noteworthy release for a fairly inconsequential film, it sounds good - very atmospheric and cohesive. It is worse than I'd expected, however, because it's only 34 minutes but feels like it lasted 15 minutes too long, and I genuinely struggle to see how it would work as a soundtrack for this movie. Anyways, that makes it difficult to rate. Also, just a quick thought project: should this project include hyper-recently released albums? It sort of seems like you'd want to see short- AND long-term reception of the album, including how critics receive it as well as how casual listeners do. Maybe I'm overthinking.

TikTok/Reels really ruined the collab with John Cale but this was surprisingly really good. Pretty unorthodox pop but still interesting and catchy.

Not really my thing

This is shit, why is it on this list?

Pop

Pop-techno

There's absolutely zero reason for this album to be on the list. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever heard, but the fact that a movie soundtrack that came out less than a year ago is on the list is ridiculous.

Ok I get it now, Charli xcx is the real deal. I think this is great. This album is *dramatic* - from the incredible opening track, through to the very end. A lot of that is in the production, with the big soundscapes and bold use of synths. Sometimes discordant, sometimes soaring. A track is even titled 'Wall of Sound', but that's what you get for so much of it. It has such a brilliant atmosphere throughout. I'll definitely listen to this again.

2nd rate album from a 2nd rate film

Agree with the 1s and 2s. Does not belong here.

I dont know why i liked this, but i did. I had the misfortune if watching part if the film this soundtracked and it was awful. But the album does a much better job of generating atmosphere and angst and heightened emotion. Of the new albums this appears to have the most heft and personality and i can see why it made the cut

"Brat" was a lot more fun. Obviously, this is a very different album. Artsy and Kate Bush-inspired. It's also a very good album. But, in the end, is the musical universe that small that two Charlie XCX albums are worthy of of this limited list? At the risk of repeating myself, one of Charlie's spots should have gone to Halsey.

OK

You want the real wall of sound, track down Dick's Picks Vol. 12 and have your mind blown

Meh

Pleasant!

WTF is doing 2026 album on this list?

The first time I heard this album I thought, "If this can match the gravitas and tonality of the opener 'House' then I'm going to like it way more than expected". Heaviness in music always pulls me in. Distortion is a caress as much as a slap. And that second song is nearly there, it's almost doing the thing of 'a continuity of feeling' but it turns out it's a transition to a pop number in song three. Now that we're in more Charli xcx territory I still have hope but I know it's not going to be quite as dark as I'd hoped. She deforms the sonic quality of the track enough to keep my interest even as the pop structure is as basic as you'd expect from Dying for You. Now this album turns out to be one of unfolding as a rhythm between the songs reveals an underlying intention: Always Everywhere / Chains of Love. Do we see songs as pairs looking back? Or overlapping waves each an emotional echo and enhancement of the other? By Out of Myself we're both swimming in the Sea of Charli in search of an emotional center and possibly reaching a peak or a precipice as Open up plunges... only to return above the line with Seeing Things. Breathing the fresh pop air, am I now buoyed by this sound? Maybe. But maybe I'm still longing for a return to the darker depths. Altars doesn't quite take me there, not enough weight to pull me all the way down even though there's a sinking quality to the song. Still wondering how this resolves, there's tension and momentum, and interest. A bit of dissonance, variety in the vocal performance and production can go a long way as we hang on to these broken pop songs as they crash upon the rocks. With 12 songs in 35 minutes it's hard to make an argument for trimming an album like this down even more but I would've kept this exact sequence and ended on track 10 Eyes of the World for a more enigmatic album that resisted tipping its hand. Both My Reminder and Funny Mouth are good songs, but there is a way in which both carry just one too many reflections of the ideas already presented through the songs that came before. Given the twinning that occurs in the course of the record, I think they have to travel together so as much as I prefer Funny Mouth of the two, it's as if My Reminder is only there to put a different resonance or part of the wave between 10 and 12. Overall, the record crafts a world for the listener and takes them through it from on high to down low, airy, earthy and drowning — a bit of life, but more death. Am I living in another world? / Another world I created For what? / If it's beauty Do you see beauty? / If there's beauty Say it's enough — Process footnote: I'm suspicious of including any release from the publication decade into a book like the 1001 because we haven't had the time to establish a critical distance, but if we're adding popular music by popular artists we could've done much worse than this...I hear the Rolling Stones have two releases in the '20s. How unlucky could we be?

Mediocre

It is insane recency bias to put this in here. I believe this is the only movie soundtrack and the only Charli XCX album. Pretty stupid. That being said, it was fine.

Cathy and Heathcliff were tortured lovers. Misery loves company, and this album invites us to be tortured along with them.

Day1032 - i call shenanigans. first of all it’s not even been nine months since its release. secondly there’s got to be so many other movie soundtracks that are better

We are really saying to me that they had about 10 or so new spots on the list, and 2 of them were for Charlie xcx? Is one of them a 2026 movie soundtrack? Okay...how I think I am to question this apparently dumb decision. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure she is great, and the future is bright with potential classics in her discography, but with only a couple of new spots, I was expecting to be more surprised by the new inclusions. Given that, this is a MUCH better album than "Brat". I want to be able to go back some days in time, remove one star I gave to that album, and put it here. Since it's not a possibility and past me already gave 2 stars there, this one will be a 3-star album with potential to be a great one in the future, even as a soundtrack, which is already impressive, given I didn't watch the movie (yet). The songs her are not an attempt to have catchy pop songs and instead they are a collection of emotional songs captured in music, almost independent of the lyrics.

This is good pop music but it is no brat.

very good album, loved the initial tracks. This album would be exactly the sound I like!

thin. pointless. at least it was short, but this is nowhere near as important or ground-breaking as it thinks it is. a nonsensical addition to the 1001 selection, which is unlikely to survive into the next edition.

8 month old album? Nope.

I was pretty excited when I saw this album pop up, as Von dutch is still on high rotation. Seeing the album name obviously sparked some interest, and what a lovely story. Love the opener into Wall of Sound. Dying for You, Chains of Love, Altars, Eyes of the World, My Reminder and Funny Mouth are also great. I guess I'll have to check out the new movie too.

how is charli xcx so popular?

Rolling and falling in green.

a few months after this came out Charlie XcX released "Music, Fashion, Film" a much more interesting album (IMHO). Maybe the John Cale cameo is why this is in the book?

I quite liked this. The opening track alone was almost enough to make it a 5 star for me.

A minimalist and gothic (they use really spooky strings) take on 2020s pop music, it feels pretty nice as a soothing, understated listen, it has a relatively consistent feeling to it... except for the first track which is sort of completely different I can get behind this and I'm glad to have listened to the album, though without Brat it would never be here. But maybe I should be grateful that it is

I certainly don’t hate Charli xcx. But I also am not blown away by her. Bonus star from the John Cale collab.

I started and ended the work week with Charli xcx albums, that's kind of nice.

A ridiculous pick for the list. If they ever release another edition of the book, this album won't make the cut. Charli's brat summer was one thing, but a soundtrack for a movie that no one but the most deranged booktok-er will remember in a year's time? Picking albums that are less than 12 months old for an essential list of music you MUST hear before you die is just so shortsighted that I have to assume it was done exclusively for the tiny amount of internet engagement and book sales it might drum up. And yet Robert Dimery et. al. STILL can't remove any of the fluff from the 20th century. If I weren't already 970 days deep, I'd be reconsidering this listening project entirely. It's too late to stop now.

Way too early to be on this list! 2026! Come on.

At first I thought, “are we having a laugh here?” but then I kinda enjoyed this. But still, are we having a laugh?

I'm sure it's fine for people that like this kind of thing, but even John Cale can't save it from the overt commerciality that I abhor in modern music.

Album im maximalen Drama‑Modus: scharf, überdreht, herrlich ungehobelt. Der Track knallt, aber nicht jeder Moment sitzt.

Сейчас октябрь 2026. Челлендж выдал мне этот альбом при том что он вышел в феврале 2026. И уже стал одним из 1000, которые нужно прослушать? Странно. Альбом в целом неплох, но не шедевр. За что и кто его так срочно добавил в этот список?

It’s interesting. And much like the Brönte sisters, it’s melodramatic and dense. Yeah, that’s all I got.

This album is fire. It’s like gothic pop which isn’t like anything else I’ve heard. A great follow up to Brat

I didn't like the movie as much as my wife did but there were some good scenes. The soundtrack was a highlight though. Love the specific energy.

Some cool moments with the strings, but none of the songs really stood out to me tbh. Also fairly repetitive

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I love the crazy violin it creatively adds to the gothic vibe. New favorite album. I think these songs had some really cool artistic elements and I enjoyed listening.

Interesting that he believes an album released in the last 10 months is one people have to listen to before they die...

Dying For You, Chains of Love, Seeing Things, Altars, Eyes of the World were cool. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it didn't feel like the background music was at the forefront. It felt like my focus should be on getting high and swaying with a group while intently watching a lava lamp. Or that this music should be a montage background to a transformational moment of a movie character.

Wow!!! Beautiful album!! I'll have to take her work more seriously. Enjoyed this one!

We vehemently disliked this movie so I came in tainted. But you know, this soundtrack was actually pretty good.

I'm beginning to think this list needs to act like Halls of Fame, there should be a waiting period to determine if an album is something you need to hear. This definitely isn't one. It felt like an entire album of opening tracks. I guess it's kind of a soundtrack so maybe that explains the lack of anything substantial?

This is the first album I've received from the revised 2026 edition! I've already listened to it a few times already this year. I keep forgetting it's a soundtrack. I'm not likely to watch the movie. I don't know how I feel about it in this context. Probably nothing from 2026 should be on this list in fucking 2026. But it’s a good album; it’s got some good tunes. Might like it even more than Brat.

I think it's silly to add something from THIS YEAR to the list. That said, I love music like this and consequently loved this. So, like, yeah, it's a five for me, but what're we doing, book editors?

Prettt standard electro pop

Imagine wasting your time complaining about how albums less than a year old shouldn't be part of this list. I mean, I get it, y'all have a point, but let's just talk about the album instead. I noticed that this talk was on a woman's album. Curious. I don't know Charlie XCX well, but I know enough that Wuthering Heights is not her usual vibe. But gosh she pulls it off so well. The addition of John Cale was fantastic because his low voice is perfect to start off the album. And the vibe throughout the album is so consistent but more than that, it's eerie--and delicious. The lyrics are just right, not too over the top yet beautiful. Really impressed, and I'm looking forward to brat.

Really liked this. Not my normal genre but I still enjoyed it. Fantastic production quality. Perfect length too at ~35 minutes. Good listen.

Absolute pile of arse

Favorite Track: Chains of Love

A bit of a weird one. I love Charlie's music, but this is far from her best album. There are still a few very good highs in here. The hyper pop is ever present: synthetic and intrusive. You feel the need to move to the pervasive rhythm.

Man, the first track had me super pumped. I could see how this works as a soundtrack with each track a short scene rather than being fleshed out into standalone songs. Each track was just a little bit less interesting to me than the one before. Probably won't revisit this as a whole.

I have very little knowledge of the source material, but it was an interesting concept and listen.

Disliked the first track. The rest of the album was fine. Seems like an odd pick for the list.

I just don't get why an album like this makes the list?

I mean it's fine, but if we had to put a 2026 album on this list (we sure don't) I wouldn't pick this one.

Why would this possibly be included? It's fine but that's pretty much it.

On one hand, it's really nice to see newer music being introduced. On the other hand - why this?

I think I like it more than Brat.

i love Charli and i do quite enjoy this album but I don't think i can quite cosign its inclusion in the book. I'm already pretty against artist repeats except in specific circumstances, where they had a significant style shift or their greatest album isn't their most influential, etc but I don't think there's much justification for adding two Charli albums, especially in a batch of just 13. am i still going to give it a 5? well yeah obviously Dying for You is fucking banger and the decision to bring John Cale into the silly pop movie soundtrack album is so cool and the end result is really arresting, i just think in a perfect world this spot would have gone to someone else (plus Music, Fashion, Film is better if we really need a 2026 Charli album but i accept that the book came out before that album (although you gotta give it up for her putting out both of these great albums within 6 months of each other))

Oh god, Wuthering Heights. The album is not bad, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the shit that was this movie. And to feel inspired by the script is definitely a choice.

Struggling to understand why this album was included in the project. It's fine in moments, but was more boring than anything else. Maybe the soundtrack was widely acclaimed? Wouldn't understand that either. Top tracks: Chains of Love, Altars

Better than brat

I agree with the general sentiment that this is a weird choice to include on the latest edition. I like Charli XCX a lot, and was happy to see Brat included - but her soundtrack album to a movie that 1) wasn't a hit and 2) wasn't reviewed well, is a weird inclusion. The album itself is strong, and an interesting follow-up to Brat - but I really question the inclusion.