Charli xcx Steps Back from the Club on New Single ‘SS26’

Charli xcx has released ‘SS26’, the second preview of her next album. The track pulls hard away from the hedonistic pulse of ‘brat’ and even the sharp return of recent single ‘Rock Music’. Here, she slows into something more melodic and reflective, picking over the hollow mechanics of celebrity worship.

A jagged guitar rip cuts through the meditation, keeping the song from drifting entirely inward. It’s a subtle pivot, not a total reinvention. The writing feels direct, less concerned with catharsis than with observation.

The video, directed by Torso, was shot in Paris and uses a catwalk as its central image. Charli multiplies across the runway, versions of herself colliding as she delivers the line, “we’re walking on a runway that goes straight to hell.” The fashion-show framing sharpens the song’s point without hammering it. It’s controlled and visually crisp.

No details have surfaced yet about the full album, but ‘SS26’ suggests a record that’s willing to trade some heat for a cooler, more exacting register. For an artist who just reshaped pop with a club record, the move reads less like retreat than recalibration.