Charli XCX's star is rising. Once considered the underdog of both the commercial and indie world, the black-licorice-haired pop star shattered through the mainstream by writing Icona Pop's 2012 hit, "I Love It", and the hook on this year's bona fide Iggy Azalea smash "Fancy".
In other words, this girl knows how to write a hit.
Naturally, her sophomore album is full of all the saccharine and sass you'd imagine a 22-year-old with the music industry in the palm of her hand to have. The production, provided by the likes of uber-trendy Scandinavian producers-du-jour Stargate and Patrik Berger, as well as Weezer's Rivers Cuomo and Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglijs, is impressive.
There are moments of classic ear-candy brilliance, like onomatopoeic breakout single "Boom Clap", and the bass-heavy teen angst anthem "Break The Rules". Others like "London" and "Famous" are more high octane sass-pop and overproduced.
This is a pop record, lest we forget, but when production overshadows the songwriting, the music becomes dated. And that is Sucker's biggest flaw.
★★★
