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Camila Cabello: C,XOXO review – Havana star’s bad-girl reboot is totally unconvincing
Leaving behind gooey balladry and family-friendly fare, the US star’s reinvention owes a clear debt to Charli xcx but leaves her grasping for space on her own album
Among said voices was that of Charli xcx herself, who posted a parody of Cabello’s announcement video to TikTok, with I Got It replacing I Luv It on the soundtrack: cue the ever-delightful sound of diehard fans arguing with each other online. But the album’s signature sound is skeletal and sketchy: a solitary synth or piano line and the odd sample over a beat, songs that either feel melodically vaporous, such as Chanel No.5, or which alight on a hook then absolutely hammer it into the ground through repetition, as on I Luv It or Dream-Girls. Cabello’s vocals, which traditionally also carry something of The X Factor about them – big on bring-the-audience-to-their-feet emoting and showy runs – have been largely transformed into a mush-mouthed hip-hop-inspired delivery, given an extra sheen of incomprehensibility by the trowelling-on of AutoTune.
Or read this on The Guardian
