How I'm Feeling Now

How I'm Feeling Now (stylized in all lowercase)[4] 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.[5]

This article is about the album by Charli XCX. For the album by Lauv, see How I'm Feeling.

How I'm Feeling Now
Studio album by
Charli XCX
Released15 May 2020 (2020-05-15)
Recorded2017 ("party 4 u" first version); 6 April – 8 May 2020
Studio
  • Charli's house
  • BJ's Place
  • PC Music Studios Montana
  • Dog Show Studio
  • Ten87 Studios
Genre
Length37:00
Label
Producer
Charli XCX chronology
Charli
(2019)		 How I'm Feeling Now
(2020)		 Live from Austin
(2020)
Singles from How I'm Feeling Now
  1. "Forever"
    Released: 9 April 2020
  2. "Claws"
    Released: 23 April 2020
  3. "I Finally Understand"
    Released: 7 May 2020

How I'm Feeling Now was preceded by the singles "Forever", "Claws" and "I Finally Understand" which were met with positive reviews from critics. The album received critical acclaim, and was noted for its fusion of pop songwriting and experimental electronic production. It was shortlisted for the 2020 Mercury Prize.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8] On 18 March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Charli XCX began a self-isolating livestream series featuring artists such as Diplo, Clairo and Rita Ora.[9]

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.[10] 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."[10] 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.[11] She also said in the stream that A. G. Cook and BJ Burton were among the people she was working with.[12] During the Zoom announcement, Charli XCX set a release date of 15 May 2020.[10][11]

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.[13] The full tracklist and album cover were revealed on 13 May 2020, prior to the album's release.

Musical style

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,[14][2][15] a style that has been variously referred to as "bubblegum bass" and "hyper-pop".[16][17][18][19] Kitty Empire of The Guardian described the album's music as "acrylic, outre, influencer club-pop," which "aggressively foregrounds its own artifice."[20] Variety's Jem Aswad characterised 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 characterised 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][21] Charli XCX herself has described the album as "Pop 2's frantic emo younger sister."[22] 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."[23]

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.[24][25] The official music video for "Forever", featuring clips sent in from fans, was released on 17 April 2020.[26]

On 11 April 2020 she announced that she had chosen the next single, to be titled either "Claws" or "I Like".[27] On 14 April 2020 she announced that she had settled on "Claws" as the song title.[28] 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.[29]

On 2 May 2020, Charli unveiled that she would release a third single before the album release titled "I Finally Understand" the following week.[30] It premiered on 7 May 2020.[31]

On the day of the album's release, "Enemy" was released as a promotional single from the album.[32]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[33]
Metacritic82/100[34]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Clash9/10[35]
Crack8/10[36]
The Daily Telegraph[37]
DIY[38]
The Guardian[20]
The Independent[21]
NME[15]
Pitchfork7.7/10[39]
The Times[40]

How I'm Feeling Now was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 82, based on 16 reviews.[34]

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,"[37] while The Fader's Salvatore Maicki called it "indisputably cohesive and honest" in its exploration of emotional extremes.[41] Hannah Mylrea of NME called it a "glorious, experimental collection" and praised Aitchison's "knack for a killer pop hook" despite the "crunching production."[15] 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."[35] Tom Hull gave the album a B-plus and said that recording at home due to quarantine "doesn't allow her the usual kitchen sink pop production, but she cranks the synths up loud enough it doesn't matter."[42]

The album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 2020, losing to Michael Kiwanuka's Kiwanuka.[43][44]

Rankings
Critics' rankings of How I'm Feeling Now
Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year N/A
[45]
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020
18
[46]
Crack The Top 50 Albums of 2020
9
 [47]
Exclaim! 33 Best Albums of 2020 So Far
22
[48]
Gigwise The Gigwise 51 Best Albums of 2020
30
[49]
Gorilla vs. Bear Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2020
24
[50]
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2020
33
[51]
The Line of Best Fit The Best Albums of 2020 Ranked
3
[52]
NME The 50 Best Albums of 2020
24
[53]
NPR The 50 Best Albums of 2020
50
[54]
Paste Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
20
[55]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2020
48
[56]
The Quietus Quietus Albums Of The Year 2020
71
[57]
Rolling Stone Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year N/A
[58]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
8
[59]
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
19
[60]
Uproxx The Best Albums of 2020 So Far
14
[61]
The Best Albums of 2020
28
[62]

Commercial performance

How I'm Feeling Now debuted at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart, moving 2,145 units.[63]

Track listing
How I'm Feeling Now[64]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Pink Diamond"
2:04
2."Forever"
  • Burton
  • Cook
4:03
3."Claws"
Brady2:29
4."7 Years"
  • Aitchison
  • Cook
  • Burton
  • Cook
  • Burton
3:15
5."Detonate"
  • Aitchison
  • Cook
3:39
6."Enemy"
Burton3:43
7."I Finally Understand"
  • Aitchison
  • Benjamin Keating
2:31
8."C2.0"
Cook3:40
9."Party 4 U"
  • Aitchison
  • Cook
Cook4:56
10."Anthems"
  • Brady
  • Harle
  • Burton[a]
2:51
11."Visions"
  • Aitchison
  • Cook
  • Burton
  • Cook
  • Burton
3:49
Total length:37:00

Notes

  • ^[a] indicates an additional producer
  • All track titles are stylised in all lowercase letters.

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.[64]

Musicians

  • Charlotte Aitchison – all vocals (1–11)
  • A. G. Cook – drum programming (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–9, 11), synthesizers (1, 2, 4, 5, 7–9, 11), programming (2), xylophone (2), bass (7), drums (7), additional drum and synthesizer programming (7), background vocals (9)
  • Dijon – drum programming and synthesizers (1)
  • BJ Burton – drum programming (2, 4, 6, 10, 11), synthesizers (2, 4, 6, 10, 11), Moog (5), bass (6), drums (6)
  • Dylan Brady – bass (3), drum programming (3, 8), drums (3), synthesizers (3), softsynths (8), harsh noise (8)
  • Eli Teplin – keyboards (6)
  • Jim-E Stack – Roland JV-1080 (6)
  • Benjamin Keating – background vocals, bass, drum programming, drums, and synthesizer (7)
  • Kim Petras – additional vocals (8)
  • Jaan Umru – bass, drum programming, synth sound design, and "vibes" (8)

Technical

  • Charlotte Aitchison – executive production, recording (1–11), engineering (1, 2, 4–10)
  • BJ Burton – executive production, engineering (3, 11), vocal production (1, 3, 5, 6, 11)
  • A. G. Cook – executive production, engineering (9), vocal production (5, 7, 11)
  • Stuart Hawkes – mastering
  • Geoff Swan – mixing
  • Niko Battistini – assistant mix engineering
  • Dylan Brady – vocal production (3)
  • Benjamin Keating – vocal production (7)
  • Jaan Umru – vocal processing (8)

Charts
Chart performance for How I'm Feeling Now
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[65] 37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[66] 106
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[67] 100
Irish Albums (OCC)[68] 27
Japan Download Albums (Billboard Japan)[69] 82
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[70] 64
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[71] 40
Norwegian Vinyl Albums (VG-lista)[72] 27
Scottish Albums (OCC)[73] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[74] 33
US Billboard 200[75] 111

Release history
Release dates and formats for How I'm Feeling Now
Region Date Format Label
Various 15 May 2020
18 September 2020 LP, CD[76]

References
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