Credits:Charli XcxDescription:Inthecoupleofyearsleadinguptoherdebutalbum,TrueRomance,CharliXCXissuedaslewofsingles,EPs,andmixtapesthatmixedmoodysynthpopwithrapandR&Bintoasoundbilledas"neongoth."Despitethatsomewhatawkwarddescriptionofherstyle,Charlidoeshaveaflairforchiaroscuro,switchingeasilyfrombrooding("SetMeFree")tosparkly("TakeMyHand"),sometimeswithinthecourseofonesong("You'retheOne,"oneoffivepreviouslyreleasedtrackshere).Insomeways,she'stheoppositeofGrimes,whosprinklesjustenoughsugaroverherquirkymusicalideastomakethemaccessible.Instead,CharliXCX'ssongsarepopwithacapitalP--she'sunabashedinherloveforBritneyandMariah--butjustoddenoughtobeunique.LikeQuentinTarantino,towhomTrueRomance'stitlepayshomage,shehasaflairforcombiningawidearrayofpopculturesourcesintosomethingfreshandfamiliar,aswellasafondnessforstrongfemalecharacters.Thesesongsarefilledwithtoughgirlsinvaryingstagesoflove,moststrikinglyontheequallyvindictiveandcatchy"Yo