Quit Acting Like A Puppy

Charli XCX “Yuck”

Until the chorus hits “Yuck” could easily pass for a Dua Lipa hit, a groovy quasi-disco number with an urbane gloss and lyrics focused on love. But once that chorus comes we’re firmly in Charli XCX territory – a little bratty, a little silly, and deliberately subverting pop expectations. The premise of this one is very clever: she’s into this guy, but he’s too into her and laying it on thick with romantic gestures she finds utterly nauseating. It’s just as relatable as a typical love song but covering more specific ground, particularly as the lyrics and the whole feeling of the song nudges toward an unstated question: Why the hell do I even feel this grossed out? Is this a matter of taste – bro, can you please just be cool? – or more about self-sabotage, insecurities, or anxieties about being smothered? There’s a lot going on in this song that could easily just be taken as a joke.

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