Charli Xcx

How I'm Feeling Now 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. 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.

In the couple of years leading up to her debut album, True Romance, Charli XCX issued a slew of singles, EPs, and mixtapes that mixed moody synth pop with rap and R&B into a sound billed as "neon goth." Despite that somewhat awkward description of her style, Charli does have a flair for chiaroscuro, switching easily from brooding ("Set Me Free") to sparkly ("Take My Hand"), sometimes within the course of one song ("You're the One," one of five previously released tracks here). In some ways, she's the opposite of Grimes, who sprinkles just enough sugar over her quirky musical ideas to make them accessible. Instead, Charli XCX's songs are pop with a capital P – she's unabashed in her love for Britney and Mariah – but just odd enough to be unique. Like Quentin Tarantino, to whom True Romance's title pays homage, she has a flair for combining a wide array of pop culture sources into something fresh and familiar, as well as a fondness for strong female characters.