Charli XCX's Wuthering Heights Soundtrack: A Spectacular Gothic Fever Dream
On her wild and atmospheric soundtrack for Emerald Fennell's film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, pop star Charli XCX proves herself far more attuned to the terrible complexity of Emily Brontë's original vision than the director herself. While Fennell's lavish visual narrative often skims the surface with a comical gloss, XCX's music claws through centuries to unearth the dark, damaged hearts of Cathy and Heathcliff.
A Sonic Journey from Hyperpop to Gothic Depths
In interviews, the artist born Charlotte Aitchison reveals she was touring her chaotic party album BRAT in 2024 when she received a text from Fennell requesting a soundtrack. Fresh from composing for Emma Seligman's 2023 dark comedy Bottoms, Aitchison felt exhausted by BRAT's erratic hyperpop and deliberately moved in the opposite direction for Wuthering Heights.
Collaborating with co-producer Finn Keane, she luxuriates in dreamier sonic territories, trading the garish neons of her last album for gritty, pixelated shades of grey. The album nods to the layered grind of Nineties bands like Nine Inch Nails and the aching drone of Sixties icons The Velvet Underground, creating a unique blend of history and modernity.
Historical Echoes and Modern Tensions
This record conjures history through its use of violin, cello, and double bass, yet violently drags their horsehair romance into the present over cold, muddy beds of industrial electronica. On the track Wuthering Heights, Aitchison intones with a dry throat, "Put my flesh upon the cross until I scream," leaning into the script's BDSM vibe while maintaining a profound connection to Brontë's gothic essence.
A standout moment is the tremendous single "House," featuring former Velvet Underground member John Cale. At 82, Cale's weathered vocal adds a sense of deeper time, much like Nellie Dean's unreliable narration in Brontë's novel. Over a ragged, repeated snag of a violin bow, he speaks with haunting formality about imprisonment and eternity, balanced by Aitchison's corrosive howl towards the close.
Emotional Depth and Experimental Sounds
The album reverberates with howls of anguish, as on "Wall of Sound," where Aitchison mutters gutturally about "unbelievable tension... unbelievable pressure" over loops of thwarted yearning. Tracks like "Dying for You" escalate to a clubbable pace with breathless revelations of pain and torture, while "Always Everywhere" captures the wild beauty of the misty moors with a melody that scales the hills.
"Seeing Things" delves into madness and visions over punchy, sawing violins, and the spectacular "Chains of Love" writhes in the anguish of obsessive love, with lyrics declaring a preference for thorns, drowning, or self-immolation over release.
A Phantasmagorical Triumph
The entire album is a phantasmagorical fever dream that relishes weird and experimental noises without sacrificing cool hooks or accessible language. Aitchison demonstrates a keen alignment with Brontë's original vision, presenting emotion without inverted commas. In contrast to Fennell's surface-level approach, this soundtrack is a windswept, gothic triumph that immerses listeners in the novel's dark heart.
