Prepare to be captivated by Charli XCX's hauntingly beautiful soundtrack for Wuthering Heights, a project that dares to reimagine Emily Brontë’s timeless tale through a lens of modern experimentation and raw emotion. But here’s where it gets controversial: while Emerald Fennell’s film adaptation glides smoothly over the story’s surface, Charli’s music digs deep, unearthing the dark, tortured hearts of Cathy and Heathcliff with a gritty intensity that’s both unsettling and utterly mesmerizing. And this is the part most people miss—this isn’t just a soundtrack; it’s a fever dream, a phantasmagorical journey that blends classical instrumentation with industrial electronica, creating a soundscape that feels both ancient and fiercely contemporary.
Charli, born Charlotte Aitchison, was in the midst of touring her chaotic, hyperpop masterpiece BRAT when Fennell reached out. Exhausted by the album’s frenetic energy, she found herself drawn to the opposite extreme, crafting a soundtrack that swaps neon brightness for pixelated shades of grey. Working alongside Finn Keane, her collaborator on BRAT, Aitchison dives into dreamier, more atmospheric territory, nodding to the layered intensity of Nine Inch Nails and the haunting drones of The Velvet Underground. Boldly, she even enlisted John Cale, the former Velvet Underground member, to lend his weathered vocals to the single ‘House.’ At 82, Cale’s voice adds a profound sense of timelessness, echoing the novel’s own backward gaze into history, while reminding us that passion and creativity defy age.
‘House’ is a standout, with Cale’s hauntingly formal delivery—‘Can I speak to you privately for a moment?’—layered over the jagged scrape of a violin bow. Aitchison’s response is a long, corrosive howl, a motif that echoes throughout the album, even as she shifts to guttural mutterings on tracks like ‘Wall of Sound.’ Here, she conjures ‘unbelievable tension… unbelievable pressure,’ building loops of thwarted yearning that escalate into club-ready rhythms on ‘Dying for You.’ The lyrics are raw and revelatory: ‘All the pain and torture that I went through all makes sense to me now / I was dying for you.’
The album’s wild beauty shines through in tracks like ‘Always Everywhere,’ where the melody seems to scale the misty moors, and ‘Seeing Things,’ which explores madness and visions over punchy, sawing violins. ‘Chains of Love’ is a wrenching exploration of obsessive love, with Aitchison declaring, ‘I’d rather lay down in thorns / I’d rather drown in a stream / I’d rather light myself on fire / I’d rather wear all these scars / I’d rather watch my skin bleed…’ Is this love, or is it self-destruction? The line blurs, inviting listeners to grapple with the same complexities Brontë explored.
What sets this soundtrack apart is its fearless embrace of weirdness and experimentation, all while maintaining catchy hooks and accessible language. Aitchison’s interpretation feels far more in tune with Brontë’s original vision than Fennell’s film, capturing the raw, unfiltered emotion of the novel without resorting to irony or detachment. It’s a windswept, gothic triumph that demands to be felt as much as heard.
But here’s the question: Does Charli XCX’s soundtrack truly capture the essence of Wuthering Heights, or does it take too many liberties with Brontë’s work? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—this is one debate that’s sure to spark differing opinions!
