Wuthering Heights by Charli xcx // Soundtrack Album Review

Charli xcx's ability to step into a world that is so far beyond the one she usually inhabits in her work, and to commit to it as fully as she did here, truly cannot be overstated. Wuthering Heights is such an incredible example of how a modern soundtrack can be completely redefined. She fully immersed herself in the world of this story - both Emily Brontë's original 1847 text and the 2026 film adaptation - and created something that feels deeply rooted in the source material while still entirely her own. What remains the most prevalent is the deep understanding of each distinct versions of the story and the characters within them.

With this record, Charli stepped out of the world of BRAT and made something unlike anything she's ever released, reinterpreting this ill‑fated, toxic romance in a way that feels contemporary yet still honors the timelessness of Wuthering Heights. After watching the film and reading the novel, the recurring themes and differing perspectives she is writing from become even more clear and representative of the world she is tapped into. Even beyond that narrative, the music stands on its own and the themes woven throughout the album speak for themselves. All of these traits combine into an expansive project that carries a level of depth that reaches far beyond that of a standard film soundtrack.

It has a very distinct Victorian gothic industrial sound running through it, along with lush string instrumentals that also still maintains roots in her signature electronic pop style too. Wuthering Heights is so bold and entrancing in a way that stands a part from anything she's done before. The project follows the arc of this relationship that was very much doomed from the start, and guides the listener through the entire story of Heathcliff and Cathy. Throughout the record, she also often foreshadows the major events of the story in symbolic ways as well. These ties become even more evident once becoming more familiar with the perspective the film takes, as well as the general outline of the 1847 version. "Ever since I can remember, I've felt it in my bones, a tragic destiny was reserved for me all on my own", is the opening lyric of "Dying for You" that is indicative of that. This companion piece offers a striking reimagination of the classic tale.

She and her frequent collaborator Finn Keane started working on the album in late 2024, during the massive year she was having with the release of BRAT. They continued developing it while on tour the following year as well. Throughout the entire year of promoting and performing that record, she had been feeling creatively burnt out and planned on taking an extensive break from making music. Originally approached by Emerald Fennell, the film's director, to make one song for Wuthering Heights, Charli immediately struck inspiration and offered that she and Finn make a full concept album based on the world in which Emerald was creating with the film. The sense of escapism that shines throughout this music is undeniable and shapes the entire project.

Not every song from the soundtrack appears in the film itself, but the ones that do are used so beautifully, as they elevate the scenes they accompany and add so much emotional depth to the story. The rest of the soundtrack enhances the world of the film in its own way, expanding on its atmosphere even when the music isn't directly tied to a specific moment on screen.

The themes of betrayal, forbidden love, and the lingering consequences of an ill‑fated affair feel especially potent. There's a sense of a deep love that was never meant to last, and the emotional fallout that echoes for years afterward. What Charli did with Wuthering Heights is a direction more songwriters should explore when drawing from classic literature and film. To build a universe within the music that doesn't simply retell the plot, but digs into the emotional undercurrents that other mediums often gloss over is such a powerful creative choice.

Wuthering Heights opens with the dark and ominous "House", which is largely a spoken word introduction by The Velvet Underground's John Cale. Charli has cited him as a major influence over her work for many years, so this collaboration is especially fitting. It creates this claustrophobic and intentionally uncomfortable atmosphere to start with, with screeching violins over the ominous monologue.

Charli comes in toward the end as the music reaches its peak, repeating the central thesis of Wuthering Heights with this haunting, escalating refrain: "I think I'm gonna die in this house". It starts almost monotone, eerily calm, before unraveling into explosive, distorted screams. It's completely insane (in the best, most avant-garde way) and so wildly ambitious. Truly no one else in her field would ever venture this far artistically, or commit to a concept with this level of intensity and theatricality. "House" embodies so many of the characters of the story and their emotional journeys, capturing all of the tragedy, obsession and impending doom that lies within this novel - even ultimately foreshadowing how their story ends as well.

John Cale ends the song with a chilling final line, "In every room, I hear silence," which then connects so powerfully into the following song, "Wall of Sound". The tension and grandeur that build throughout this song feels like a much‑needed breather from the chaos we started with on "House". It is ultimately a song about resisting desire and trying not to give into that temptation. The lushness of the instrumentation represents the ways in which that inner monologue is getting harder to ignore, mirroring the events of the story in many ways.

"Tell me that you love me, tell me that you need me," she pleads in the bridge. "You're what keeps me breathing, keeps my heart beating". On this song, Charli allows her vocals to shine through in way like never before in such an unfiltered and vulnerable way. There are many moments she allows her vocals to take center-stage in a way that is rare for her, given how much of her catalog up to this point leans on the heavy use of intentional vocal processing as a part of her stylistic imprint. Autotune has always been woven into her signature sound, and it will likely always be present in some form through her work, but hearing her step back from many of her more familiar artistic motifs through Wuthering Heights is such a refreshing change. It highlights how beautiful her natural voice is and also proves why those effects work so well for her in the first place, as she has the real vocal talent to back it up.

A song like "Always Everywhere" is another standout for these reasons, bringing her haunting, echoed vocals to the forefront and allowing the rawness of the verses carry so much emotional weight. It is such a different approach for her and fills the song with so much warmth and clarity. Throughout Wuthering Heights there are countless moments that are deeply breathtaking in such ways.

It's no secret that Charli is a master at crafting an iconic pop hook, and "Dying For You" is the first of many moments on Wuthering Heights that further proves that. It's a massive highlight on the album, channeling the intensity of the story with such clarity and understanding. The writing is so vivid and deeply rooted in the world of Wuthering Heights, yet delivered through a distinctly modern pop lens in a way that is perfectly executed.

There is still a darkness and a yearning that defines much of "Dying For You" lyrically, and it overall feels deeply tied to the emotional core of the novel especially. It embodies the entire plot of Wuthering Heights, with all of the obsession and volatility that ultimately that binds Cathy and Heathcliff together. "All the pain and torture that I went through all makеs sense to me now, I was dying for you," she sings in the chorus.

It captures both the shared toxicity and self-destructive nature of their relationship, as well as the "tragic destiny" that neither can escape. The revelation in the first line of the song in particular can be interpreted in so many different ways and echoes so many different facets of the connection that they share, again foreshadowing so much of what's to come in their story that this album retells.

The heart of Wuthering Heights comes in with "Chains of Love", which is the core anthem of the album, and in many ways every iteration of this story. It embodies the intoxicating, romantic and obsessive bond between Heathcliff and Cathy. Charli captures the feeling of being trapped in the eye of someone else's storm in such a poignant way, torn between devotion and destruction.

"Shatterin' like glass, yes, they're breakin' up my heart, the chains of love are cruel," Charli sings in the chorus. "I shouldn't feel like a prisoner, my face is turnin' blue, can't breathe without you here". It is such an incredibly cinematic hook that is among the most memorable on the album. The line "I know the chains of love won't break" also stands out in the way their powerful connection is captured too.

"This was one of the last songs I finished writing for this project. It was important to us for this song to feel like it was on the brink of brokenness whilst still being totally luscious, sumptuous and orgasmic. It kind of makes me feel on overload," Charli said alongside the song's release.

The song was co-written with Finn Keane and longtime collaborator Justin Raisen, who was a key creative force behind Charli's underrated 2013 debut True Romance. Because of that, "Chains of Love" draws a subtle, but unmistakable line back to the ethos of that era. The melodramatic parallels and romantic fatalism return here with a more mature and evolved sound, as if she's revisiting aspects of her early work through a sharper, more refined lens.

It is also another example of the many ways in which Charli has always been ahead of her time in the pop world. The echoes of what she explored thirteen years ago on her debut continue to resurface, especially on Wuthering Heights, signaling a deeper, more fully realized embodiment of the emotions and aesthetics that shaped her early career.

The blend of industrial electronic elements with elegant Victorian motifs and orchestral production creates such a uniquely striking sonic palette, one that really shows just how dynamic and varied this album is. "Out of Myself" and "Seeing Things" are perfect examples of that contrast being represented in a single song, especially with only the quick atmospheric interlude "Open Up" between them. The storytelling on both tracks is so interesting, with "Seeing Things" particularly being a stand out. It is written in a very conversational stream-of-consciousness style that Charli has always excelled at, and can be interpreted as being written from the perspective of either Cathy or Heathcliff, especially given the way the film ends.

The hallucination-like imagery of seeing someone who isn't really there, or catching a glimpse of who she thinks is a familiar face on the street but is actually only another stranger, gives the song so much emotional weight to tie into the rest of the larger story. "You're a ghost now, maybe a reflection, in fact, I'm certain I just saw you in the window," she sings in the second verse. "I was just browsing when I met your eye, couldn't believe it so I reached my fingers out to touch your face in the pane and turned around to speak and say your name, you vanished into thin air".

"Altars" in contrast takes a more of a minimalist approach than the rest of the album, built around a repeating synth line layered over a simplistic string arrangement. That contrast gives the song a haunting stillness, paired with the sensuality and restraint of her vocal performance. Lyrically, it explores the act of worshipping someone who doesn't deserve to be placed on a pedestal, elevating them to a level that ultimately becomes destructive.

At the latter half of the record, the emotional stakes reach their climax. "One is not the loneliest number, won't keep puttin' all my faith in you, one is not the loneliest number, got me turning far away from you," she sings in the chorus. "I'm at your altar, baby, I once believed, I once believed I was free, I'm at your altar, baby, now I can see you're gonna end up killing me". "Altars" is the moment of recognition for her to be alone and the need to leave him behind, even as their connection continues to consume her.

The final three songs on the album each bring the story to a powerful close in their own distinct ways and "Eyes of the World" is the first to usher in the conclusion. The song features frequent collaborator Sky Ferreira, making a rare return to music on a project that feels perfectly suited for her to be a part of. This track is among the darkest and most haunting atmospherically of the entire album. It is meant to embody the ghostly and all-encompassing presence that Cathy still holds even in death at the moors. Charli told Rolling Stone that the album as a whole was built around "...this feeling that you get being on the moors, in the sort of bitter cold," which is a setting vividly depicted on "Eyes of the World" especially. The cold and gothic tone it takes perfectly represents the lingering grief within the story and unresolved longing.

"My Reminder" succinctly traces the entire emotional journey of these two characters as they reach their inevitable end. The production again leans more pop-forward, but the screeching, unsettling violins in the background add even more depth to the unraveling narrative. It once again feels sonically reminiscent of her True Romance album as well.

"I'm not gonna be your bitter rival, we grew together in the same four walls," she sings in the first verse. "This competition and this tension so strong, a blood relation that I can't outrun". Another lyrical highlight is the progression of the lyric into the final pre-chorus, "I don't hate you, I love you too much, but I won't tell you 'cause we're just different now".

"Funny Mouth" stands out as a powerful, cinematic conclusion to the album. Co‑written with Joe Keery - an unexpected collaboration on this soundtrack, but one that works incredibly well - the track beautifully blends both of their songwriting voices and showcases how aligned they are artistically. It's especially exciting given that it is one of the first times he has written for another artist without performing on the track himself. His artistic voice is so distinct and his fingerprints on "Funny Mouth" are evident from the first moments of the song. It has kind of an "Egg" tone to it that is immediately recognizable.

"Funny Mouth" has a dark and cinematic way of closing out Wuthering Heights, with the writing being among the most vivid of the entire album. The song plays during a pivotal moment in the film and ties directly into the larger themes of betrayal and forbidden love that defines so much of the overall story. "When they come out, unfunny words from your funny mouth, I take them inside, are you man enough to compromise?" she sings in the opening verse. "If there's a light, don't let it go out, take it in stride, put your foot in your mouth, we'll be alright". The repetition of "We'll be alright, alright, alright" at the end is incredible as a final, echoing plea that closes the record with a sense of emotional exhaustion and inevitability.

There is a distinct elegance and deep sense of understanding of the source material that runs throughout every single song on this album. Charli is such a visionary artist, and Wuthering Heights only further solidifies that - what a joy it is to experience the magic of her work in real time! This soundtrack is likely to be looked back on as a cornerstone for just how far Charli can go as an artist and songwriter. The way she is able to reinterpret and reshape a classic story into something so distinctly modern while still honoring the original spirit of the novel written nearly two hundred years ago is such an impressive creative feat. To reflect the contemporary sensibilities embedded in Emerald Fennell's new film while intuitively creating a bridge between two versions of the same story is something she pulls off with remarkable seamlessness.