Charli XCX Turns Wuthering Heights Into a Brooding 12-Track Album
Charli XCX composed a 12-track companion for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights that blends gothic strings, industrial drums and a John Cale spoken poem while doubling as a standalone album, critics said.
Overview
Charli XCX composed a brooding 12-track soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
The project is Charli’s first full-length work since the 2024 album Brat and represents a deliberate move away from her recent hyperpop era, critics wrote.
Reviewers described the music as gothic, atonal and industrial, and noted collaborations including a spoken poem from John Cale, a guest vocal from Sky Ferreira and production work with Finn Keane and Justin Raisen.
Critics said the release functions as both a film soundtrack and a standalone album, and that its 12 tracks range from string-heavy drones to rave breakdowns and industrial drums.
Charli said she intended the soundtrack to work as an album in its own right, and reviewers concluded she largely achieved that ambition.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame Charli XCX’s Wuthering Heights soundtrack as a brooding, stylistic detour that nevertheless preserves her signature pop touches; they foreground continuity with her prior work (“Brat”), use evaluative language (e.g., “brooding,” “enjoyable if not revelatory”), and center the reviewer’s judgments while offering few dissenting perspectives.
Sources (3)
FAQ
The soundtrack was released on February 13, 2026, one day before the film's nationwide theatrical release on February 14, 2026.
Margot Robbie stars as Cathy, Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, with Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, and Ewan Mitchell also starring.
Features John Cale on 'House', Sky Ferreira on 'Eyes of the World', with production and writing by Finn Keane, Justin Raisen, and Joe Keery on 'Funny Mouth'.
The singles are 'House' featuring John Cale, 'Wall of Sound', and 'Chains of Love'.
It marks a shift from her hyperpop era in Brat (2024) to a brooding, gothic, industrial sound with strings and atonal elements.
History
This story does not have any previous versions.