Charli XCX - Von Dutch (forward-thinking pop review)
- by Peter Källman
- in Reviews
A new track has been released from Charli XCX, titled “Von Dutch”! This song is happily blending genres and influences. It has elements of hyperpop, bloghouse, electroclash, pop, and club. I mean, with any list regarding genres, you can add 50 words that don’t really mean anything; this is just to give you a gist, but best to have a listen yourself. The production is done by “Easyfun”, a producer Charli has worked with before. One thing that I personally love doing is that if you find a track you really like by a popular artist, see who produced it and look into all the other tracks they have produced. It might actually be a more direct way of finding the particular sound that you’re after. In any case, Von Dutch is a really cool track.
The video to Von Dutch takes place in an airport, starting with Charli being swarmed by paparazzi. As the video goes on, Charli is running rampant through the airport and on airplanes. She is giving the camera a beating, suggesting she is mad at the audience, probably. The camerawork is very nice in this video, following and mimicking Charli’s fast movement. Also, I think the idea for the video is very inspired by the song. Because the song really sounds how the video looks and the video looks how the song sounds. That is the beautiful artistic synergy we often see from Charli XCX, and a big reason why she constantly tops the charts. The video ends with, actually, I don’t want to spoil it, but it is quite a powerful message. If you had to put this video in a box, it is very much an “artist vs. audience” song, but I’m not saying that negatively, just an observation.
The title Von Dutch is a nod to the trucker hat brand Von Dutch, drawing parallels between the icon status of Charli and this brand. A lot of die-hard fans definitely would see this track as part of Charli’s “party girl era”, due to the chaotic and dance-friendly nature of the track. Fans don’t seem disappointed about it too, after reading some comments. It is very cool how Charli is able to take this production, which blends hyper-modern and nostalgic sounds, and make it into something so fresh. This track is meant to be danced to at a club. I think Charli is one of the pop acts that could get away with releasing a track like this at this point, owing to her wildly successful track record of being experimental with pop. A lot of the most influential pop acts are those who break out of the norm, but just enough. They have to stay within what people like to hear while at the same time breaking out just a little bit and presenting some new ideas. It is undoubtedly super hard to be experimental, but just enough. Needless to say, Charli XCX has mastered that art at this point. Owing to first her taste and choice in production, but most importantly her unique vocal style. At this time, a lot of artists like Charli don’t necessarily produce their own tracks at all. I think this has shifted from how it used to be a little bit because produced tracks are now so abundant. I actually love this because the artists who want to survive by using this method have to rely on their musical taste. Of course, we want people with good musical taste making our music. Well, go and have a listen. Charli XCX has it all.
