In anticipation of the release of Charli XCX's sixth studio album Brat, the cover art of her discography has been updated on streaming platforms.
Number 1 Angel is the third mixtape by English singer Charli XCX, released on 10 March 2017 by Asylum Records. The mixtape contains ten tracks and was created in Los Angeles as a collaboration with producer A. G. Cook, the founder of PC Music.[2][3][4] Several other producers associated with the label also contributed to the mixtape, including Sophie, who previously produced Charli XCX's extended play Vroom Vroom. Musically, it has been labeled as avant-pop[5] and electropop.[6]
Number 1 Angel received generally positive reviews from critics. Some reviewers praised its genre-bending sounds and guest appearances, while others found it repetitive.
Background
In January 2017, Charli XCX stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that she planned to release a mixtape before the release of her third album,[7] saying: "I just got bored and made a load of songs, so I decided to put them out."[8] In an interview with 93.3, she told the radio station that she recorded the mixtape in two weeks. She described the mixtape as a "lot more sad" than her previous work, saying, "this is more like crying into the champagne than drinking it"; she also compared it to her previous work with Sophie.[9] The mixtape was slated for a February 2017 release[9] but was pushed back due to label conflicts. Charli XCX initially recorded the mixtape without her label's permission, stating that the situation, along with the album delay, had her feeling "frustrated and annoyed".[10]
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Number 1 Angel received an average score of 73, based on 5 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews.[12] Frank Falisi from Tiny Mix Tapes compared the mixtape to Madonna's early works and described it as "a text for mitigating engagements."[19] At Pretty Much Amazing, Mick Jacobs stated that "Aitchison intelligently pairs her clever lyrics against beats that push genres outward, her filling in the spaces with her hooks and gigantic personality,"[17] whilst Katherine St. Asaph of Pitchfork wrote that the mixtape "is largely stolen by its guests, like Uffie and Cupcakke."[16]
Writing for AllMusic, Neil Z. Young described the release as, "Yet another sonic shift for the singer ... Angel employs tropical bounce, cavernous electronics, and trap-rap influences on ten tracks that are more M.I.A. than Marina and the Diamonds."[14]
Retrospectively, in April 2022, Clash's Ana Lamond stated that the mixtape "holds a resilience in its stride, drawing none of its attention to the cries from Sucker Charli XCX fans, pleading for a to return to the more commercial, the more conventional breakthrough days. By no means does the mixtape play things safe, making for a bold attempt in re-defining pop music with its embrace for PC Music."[28]
The song "Britpop" (2024), which was released as the second single from A.G. Cook's album of the same name, contains an interpolation of the tenth and final song on the album, "Lipgloss", which also featured American rapper Cupcakke.
