Charli xcx has recently inaugurated a new era with the release of ‘Rock Music’, a daring but short song, which has not thrilled her audience. Charli is already planning the release of a second single, ‘SS26’, which will be released this Thursday, May 21. The acronym of ‘SS26’ responds to the phrase ‘Spring Summer 2026’ and its lyrics are now available.
Charli herself has published it on her Substack profile, where from time to time she shares some reflections in the form of an article. The text of ‘SS26’ seems like an ironic and dystopian critique of the world of entertainment and contemporary society, taking the concept of ‘Rock Music’ further.
The text, loaded with irony, is situated in an apocalyptic context (“When the world is gonna end no hope for any of it”) to construct a cynical portrait of the contemporary world and its obsession with celebrities, fame and the cult of personal image.
The lyrics include criticism of the superficiality of fashion (“Yeah we’re walking on a runway that goes straight to hell”) and the culture of cancellation (“I was hacked / It was taken out of context obviously”), as well as the logic of the obligatory apology published to get out of trouble, represented in the banal image of an “apology written in the cell phone notes blog.”
Among the most striking verses, the one in which the artist alludes to the use of identity as a commercial branding tool stands out (“Think my politics could work as a press strategy / And my heritage could give me quite the USP”), in a reflection on how the personal becomes a marketing strategy. Although perhaps the most notable is the one in which it is stated that “not even music, cinema or fashion will be able to save us.” For Charli, not only is the dance floor dead, but so is the culture itself. Charli, gutting the system from within, this Thursday.
