Charli xcx’s “House featuring John Cale” turns the post-Brat comedown into a lush, gothic exorcism of creative burnout, interrogating beauty, perfection, and the self-made prison she now finds herself living in.

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“House featuring John Cale” – Charli xcx

I think I’m gonna die in this house…

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Charli xcx has spent the better part of her career shaping what pop music will sound like years before the mainstream catches on.

When Brat was announced, the buzz was inescapable, fans even tattooing the title months ahead of the record’s release. While most hyped records would fizzle, Brat was an instant classic, elevating her to new heights by balancing bold, rave-infused energy with a vulnerability rarely heard within the genre. Now, in late 2025, the dust has settled, leaving one question: How do you follow your magnum opus? On November 10th, she answered in the form of “House featuring John Cale,” the first song for director Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights soundtrack. While the world chases her sound, Charli has gone somewhere moodier and more haunted than ever before.

In comes John Cale. For those familiar with her work, the collaboration comes as no surprise. Few could carry his gravitas, given his long history in avant-garde rock, and those pushing the boundaries should stick together. Charli explained the collaboration:

“A few years ago I watched Todd Haynes’ documentary about the Velvet Underground… One thing that stuck with me was how John Cale described a key sonic requirement of the Velvet Underground. That any song had to be both ‘elegant and brutal’… So I decided to reach out to him to get his opinion on the songs that his phrase had so deeply inspired, but also to see whether he might want to collaborate on any… I sent him some songs and we started talking specifically about ‘House.’ We spoke about the idea of a poem. He recorded something and sent it to me. Something that only John could do. And it was… well, it made me cry.”

Finn Keane, a frequent Charli collaborator, handles the production. He excels at anthemic, experimental pop, and this lush, gothic song is no different, despite stepping outside the genre. The strings come in, low and looming. Cale’s thunderous voice asks, “Can I speak to you privately for a moment?” As he continues, the instrumental swells, adding weight through dissonant, tight intervals. Towards the end comes the catharsis: a seismic post-industrial boom. In its atmospheric final stretch, it feels as though the aspect ratio changes from wide screen to full. Layers pile on, distorting the minimalist track. Charli moans and wails over the thudding drums and feedback, her voice nearly becoming part of the percussion. As the layers peel back, allowing the listener to exhale, John Cale murmurs, “In every room, I hear silence.” The final few seconds are so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

Can I speak to you privately for a moment?
I just want to explain
Explain the circumstances
I find myself in
What and who I really am

I’m a prisoner
To live for eternity
I was thinking, “What is this place?”
I thought it would be perfect
I thought
“I want it to be perfect”
Please
Let it be perfect

Am I living in another world?
Another world I created
For what?
If it’s beauty
Do you see beauty?
If there’s beauty
Say it’s enough

I think I’m gonna die in this house…

What’s even more striking than the production is the lyrical content. Cale’s contribution speaks to insecurity, the desire for beauty, and feeling lost in the life he’s built. One could attribute it to Wuthering Heights, the house acting as a vehicle to explore entrapment, but it lacks the obsession and romantic lens that the adaptation it’s written for might evoke. While it might be accidental due to it being Cale’s writing, it parallels her career more than Brontë’s work.

Charli recently reflected on the impact of her newfound success. In a Substack post titled “Running on the spot in a dream,” the pop star wrote, “I find when there’s such an influx of joy and passion and vitality in creating an album… there is naturally a feeling of emptiness that follows once it’s out in the world… by the end of the process I sort of felt like I was squeezing blood from a stone… I was stuck, I was empty, I was barren, I was running on the spot in a different kind of way.” Bearing this statement in mind, “House” seems to be about her newfound position. The lyrics, “Am I living in another world? Another world I created for what? If it’s beauty, do you see beauty? If there’s beauty, say it’s enough,” confirm the prison she built for herself. Creating something so massive is thrilling, but it leaves her needing a breakthrough despite running on fumes. It makes the song feel even more raw, showcasing the aftermath of ambition, be it intentional or not.

Whatever the case may be, “House” is Charli at her most daring.

This sonic risk leaves those listening to bask in her most interesting choice yet. The Wuthering Heights soundtrack drops alongside the film on February 13th, 2026.

Until then, we can only guess at what she might do next and hope this is just the creative reset she needed.

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“House featuring John Cale” – Charli xcx

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