How I'm Feeling Now

How I'm Feeling Now (stylized in all lowercase) is the fourth studio album by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX, released on 15 May 2020. The album was released eight months after her previous album Charli (2019) and was made in a "do-it-yourself" collaborative process with her fans in the span of six weeks. The recording and title were inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Charli XCX, A. G. Cook and BJ Burton served as the album's executive producers.[4]

Not to be confused with How I'm Feeling.

How I'm Feeling Now
Studio album by
Charli XCX
Released15 May 2020 (2020-05-15)
Recorded6 April 2020 – 8 May 2020
StudioCharli XCX's home studio (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length37:00
Label
Producer
Charli XCX chronology
Charli
(2019)		 How I'm Feeling Now
(2020)
Singles from How I'm Feeling Now
  1. "Forever"
    Released: 13 March 2020
  2. "Claws"
    Released: 22 May 2020
  3. "I Finally Understand"
    Released: 24 July 2020

How I'm Feeling Now was preceded by the singles "Forever", "Claws" and "I Finally Understand" which were met with universally positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The album received critical acclaim, and was noted for its fusion of pop songwriting and experimental electronic production.

Background

On 13 September 2019, Charli XCX released her third studio album Charli. To celebrate the one month anniversary of Charli, Charli XCX announced that the album would not receive a deluxe edition and that she already began work on a new project.[5] Soon after, on 24 November 2019, Charli XCX announced on Twitter that she was planning to record two new albums in 2020, with plans to release both by 2021.[6] On 18 March 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Charli XCX began a self-isolating livestream series featuring artists such as Diplo, Clairo and Rita Ora.[7]

External video
"How I'm Feeling Now" Announcement Zoom, via YouTube

On 6 April 2020, Charli XCX announced through a public Zoom call with fans that she would be working on a new album in self-isolation, with the tentative title How I'm Feeling Now.[8] In the call, Charli XCX stated "The nature of this album is going to be very indicative of the times just because I'm only going to be able to use the tools I have at my fingertips to create all music, artwork, videos everything."[8] The entire project would be collaborative with her fans, using Zoom calls to share demos and text conversations with producers and ask fan input on single releases, song ideas, and artwork.[9] She also said in the stream that A. G. Cook and BJ Burton were among the people she was working with.[10] During the Zoom announcement, Charli XCX set a release date of 15 May 2020.[8][9]

On 30 April 2020, Charli XCX announced on Twitter the song titles that were currently considered for the track list and that the yet unreleased fan-favorite "Party 4 U" would be on the album as well.[11] The full tracklist and album cover were revealed on 13 May 2020, prior to the album's release.

Composition

An electronic pop album,[1] How I'm Feeling Now is a continuation of the signature sound Charli XCX has specialized in since the 2016 release of EP Vroom Vroom, in which she embraced the futuristic pop music of Sophie and other musicians related to the PC Music label,[12][2][13] a style that has been variously referred to as "bubblegum bass" and "hyper-pop".[14][15][16][17] Kitty Empire of The Guardian described the album's music as "acrylic, outre, influencer club-pop," which "aggressively foregrounds its own artifice."[18] Variety's Jem Aswad characterized the production as "a shape-shifting mesh of shimmering synthesizers, driving bass, hard beats, swarms of voices and crashing mechanical sounds."[2] Although it is characterized as a formal album, critics have noted that How I'm Feeling Now is closer in style to her 2017 mixtapes Number 1 Angel and Pop 2, as it is looser and more experimental than her self-titled album.[2][19] Charli XCX herself has described the album as "Pop 2's frantic emo younger sister."[20] Writing for Paste, Austin Jones felt: "Though the glitchy sound art and experimental edges of Pop 2 are missed, Charli deftly revives the techniques of the ’90s eurotrance scene that proved formative for her musical development."[21]

Singles

On 7 April 2020, Charli shared snippets of a song called "Forever" on social media. On 9 April 2020, she announced that "Forever" would be released as the lead single off the album at 11:30 PM PST and premiere on the BBC Radio 1 with Annie Mac podcast. "Forever"'s official artwork was created by American artist Seth Bogart. Two additional artworks were also released for "Forever", by French artist Regards Coupables and American singer-songwriter Caroline Polachek, respectively.[22][23] The official music video for "Forever", featuring clips sent in from fans, was released on 17 April 2020.[24]

On 11 April 2020 she announced that she had chosen the next single, to be titled either "Claws" or "I Like".[25] On 14 April 2020 she announced that she had settled on "Claws" as the song title.[26] The official music video for "Claws" was remotely directed and edited by Charlotte Rutherford, and featured Aitchison's boyfriend Huck Kwong. It premiered on 1 May 2020.[27]

On 2 May 2020, Charli unveiled that she would release a third single before the album release titled "I Finally Understand" the following week.[28] It premiered on 7 May 2020.[29]

On the day of the album's release, "Enemy" was released as a promotional single from the album.[30]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[31]
Metacritic82/100[32]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Clash9/10[33]
Crack8/10[34]
The Daily Telegraph[35]
DIY[36]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[19]
NME[13]
Pitchfork7.7/10[37]
The Times[38]

Upon its release, How I'm Feeling Now received critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on 16 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[32]

Neil McCormick gave the album a perfect 5-star rating in his review for The Daily Telegraph, opining that it "has a directness, immediacy and intimacy that has eluded her before,"[35] while The Fader's Salvatore Maicki called it "indisputably cohesive and honest" in its exploration of emotional extremes.[39] Hannah Mylrea of NME called it a "glorious, experimental collection" and praised Aitchison's "knack for a killer pop hook" despite the "crunching production."[13] Similarly, Clash journalist Megan Warrender commended her "futuristic, unpredictable sound and penchant for an irresistible pop hook" as well as her display of "tenderness and vulnerability."[33]

Accolades
Accolades for How I'm Feeling Now
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Billboard Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
N/A
[40]
Paste Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
20
[41]
Rolling Stone Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year N/A
[42]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
8
[43]

Commercial performance

How I'm Feeling Now debuted at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart, moving 2,145 units.[44]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Pink Diamond"
2:04
2."Forever"
  • Cook
  • Burton
4:03
3."Claws"
Brady2:29
4."7 Years"
  • Aitchison
  • Cook
  • Burton
Cook3:15
5."Detonate"
  • Aitchison
  • Cook
Cook3:39
6."Enemy"
  • Aitchison
  • Burton
  • Eli Teplin
  • James Stack
Burton3:43
7."I Finally Understand"
  • Aitchison
  • Benjamin Keating
Palmistry2:31
8."C2.0"
Cook3:40
9."Party 4 U"
  • Aitchison
  • Cook
Cook4:56
10."Anthems"
  • Harle
  • Brady
2:51
11."Visions"
  • Aitchison
  • Cook
  • Burton
  • Cook
  • Burton
3:49
Total length:37:00

Notes

  • All track titles are stylized in all lowercase letters.

Personnel

Credits taken from Tidal.[45]

  • Charli XCX — vocals (all tracks), recording (all tracks), engineering (track 1)
  • A. G. Cook — production (tracks 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 11), additional production (track 7), vocal production (tracks 2, 7), drum programming (tracks 2, 7), programming (track 2), synthesizer (tracks 2, 7), xylophone (track 2), bass (track 7), drums (track 7)
  • DIJON — production (track 1)
  • Niko Battistini — assistant mix engineer (tracks 1-4)
  • Geoff Swan — mixing (tracks 1-4, 7)
  • BJ Burton — production (tracks 2, 4, 6, 11), vocal production (tracks 1-3)
  • Stuart Hawkes — mastering (tracks 2, 3, 7)
  • Dylan Brady — production (track 3, 10), vocal production (track 3), synthesizer (track 3), bass (track 3), drums (track 3), drum programming (track 3)
  • Palmistry — vocal production (track 7), backing vocals (track 7), synthesizer (track 7), drums (track 7), drum programming (track 7), bass (track 7)
  • Danny L Harle — production (track 10)

Charts
Chart performance for How I'm Feeling Now
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[46] 37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[47] 106
Irish Albums (OCC)[48] 27
Japan Download Albums (Billboard Japan)[49] 82
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[50] 64
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[51] 40
Scottish Albums (OCC)[52] 48
UK Albums (OCC)[53] 33
US Billboard 200[54] 111

References
  1. Phares, Heather. "how i'm feeling now - Charli XCX". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. Aswad, Jem (14 May 2020). "Charli XCX's 'How I'm Feeling Now': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. https://www.insider.com/charli-xcx-how-im-feeling-now-review-tracklist-breakdown-2020-5#anthems-turns-an-existential-crisis-into-an-absolute-banger-10
  4. "Charli XCX - "i finally understand"". Stereogum. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  5. Cerys Kenneally (14 October 2020). "Charli XCX reveals she's started working on her next album". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. Cerys Kenneally (25 November 2020). "Charli XCX reveals she wants to release two albums in 2020". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. Gil Kaufman (18 March 2020). "Charli XCX Launches 'Self-Isolating' Livestream Series With Rita Ora, Diplo, Clairo and More Pals". Billboard. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  8. Aniftos, Rania (6 April 2020). "Charli XCX Will Express 'How I'm Feeling Now' in Upcoming Self-Isolated Album". Billboard. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. Shaffer, Claire (6 April 2020). "Charli XCX Announces 'DIY' Quarantine Album 'How I'm Feeling Now'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  10. "Charli XCX - "How I'm Feeling Now" Announcement Zoom". YouTube. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  11. Charli (30 April 2020). "update: these are the song titles in the mix for the album: forever, claws, party4u, detonate, enemy, 7 years, anthem, pictures in my mind, pink diamond, i finally understand. there's also other tracks i still love that I haven't written over just yet..." @charli_xcx. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  12. Garvey, Meaghan (13 May 2020). "Of Course Charli XCX Invented the Quarantine Album". Vulture.com. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  13. Mylrea, Hannah (15 May 2020). "Charli XCX – 'How I'm Feeling Now' review: lockdown album is an anxiety-fuelled trip". NME. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  14. Picard, Lewis (3 October 2014). "Bubblegum Bass, an Introduction to". The Bubble. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  15. "Bubblegum Bass Starter Pack". WRVU. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  16. Bulut, Selim (20 December 2019). "The history of PC Music, the most exhilarating record label of the 2010s". Dazed. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  17. Frankel, Emile (25 October 2019). Hearing the Cloud: Can Music Help Reimagine The Future?. John Hunt Publishing. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  18. Empire, Kitty (16 May 2020). "Charli XCX: How I'm Feeling Now review – truly a work of its time". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  19. Pollard, Alexandra (15 May 2020). "Charli XCX review, How I'm Feeling Now: A brash, adventurous lockdown album". The Independent. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  20. "#howimfeelingnow is pop 2's frantic emo younger sister". Charli XCX on Twitter. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  21. Jones, Austin (19 May 2020). "Charli XCX Dances Proudly Into Vulnerable New Territory on how i'm feeling now". Paste. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  22. @charli_xcx (9 April 2020). "💓 FOREVER DROPS AT 7.30PM BST/11:30AM PST PREMIERING AS HOTTEST RECORD ON @ANNIEMAC ON @BBCR1!!!!! ARTWORK BY @SETHBOGARTOK!!! 2 MORE OFFICIAL ARTWORKS TO COME LATER IN THE DAY 💓 THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME CREATE THE FIRST SONG FROM "HOW I'M FEELING NOW" 💓" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  23. @charli_xcx (8 April 2020). "fyi i am making multiple official artworks for every song I release before the album, maybe even multiple album covers too. the "forever" artwork will be based of the photo we selected together and will be visually interpreted by @SethBogartOK @carolineplz and @regardscoupable 💓" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  24. Shaffer, Claire (17 April 2020). "Charli XCX's 'Forever' Video Is a Shining Document of Quarantine Life". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  25. @charli_xcx (11 April 2020). "i'm gonna release "i like/claws" next (haven't decided on a title yet) thanks for helping me decide Beating heart which photo should i base the artwork of off? 1, 2, 3 or 4???" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  26. Charli XCX [@charli_xcx] (14 April 2020). "ok i'm calling it "claws" 🤍" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. Shaffer, Claire (1 May 2020). "Charli XCX Parties in Front of a Greenscreen in 'Claws' Music Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  28. https://twitter.com/charli_xcx/status/1256687584471736320
  29. https://www.thefader.com/2020/05/07/listen-to-charli-xcxs-new-single-i-finally-understand
  30. https://open.spotify.com/album/1ILfGVgcglDDY9gq5wwzLL?si=6oGts3ZBSN-yWwcARTGJ7g
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  50. "ALBUMŲ TOP100" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
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