In the summer of 2024, filmmaker Emerald Fennell announced her adaptation of the 1847 novel “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë.
Charli XCX was soon announced to contribute an album of original songs for the film, alongside its score by Anthony Willis. Three singles were released to promote the film and album, which was released on Feb. 13.
The album is a stark contrast to XCX’s previous work on “Brat,” taking a modern classical approach sonically to match the time period the movie takes place in.
The first single and lead track, “House,” featuring John Cale of The Velvet Underground, was released on Nov. 10, 2025. The song features a narrated voiceover and dramatic string production that foreshadows the events of the film.
The second single, “Chains of Love,” was released three days later. The synth-pop track harks back to the singer’s past works, leaving a familiar but fresh sound for the album. Many critics pointed out the song’s similarities to her debut album, “True Romance” (2013).
A third single was surprise-released on Jan. 16, called “Wall Of Sound.” The song fuses Charli’s autotune voice with a string accompaniment, repeating the words, “Unbelievable tension, Wall of Sound.”
Consisting of 12 tracks, the album reflects the events of the film in its perfect electronic-classical theme. Charli described her work as an “elegant and brutal sound palette.”
With a runtime of less than 35 minutes, the soundtrack is the perfect studio cleanser after the long-lived Brat era, clearing the floor for whatever the singer may have coming next in her own original work.
Despite its ultimate differences from the singer’s previous works, most songs cleverly use electro-pop and synth-pop elements that do not stray too far from Charli’s sound. Classical sounds, such as string elements, are heavily used to reflect the time period of the film.
This is most evident in “Dying for You,” the third track on the album. It features a fast-paced string arrangement with loud electronic clashes. Smooth lyrics capture the essence of the love story at hand, such as “Cause you’re a gun to my head, and you’re a wound in my chest, Yeah, you’re my favourite jewellery, worn just like a noose ’round my neck.”
The album was released on the same day as the film, with a fourth single and music video, “Always Everywhere,” to support it. The video features rich cinematography on par with the film itself, utilizing dark gothic imagery in barren forestry to evoke the emotions of the track.
The final feature is on track 10, “Eyes of the World,” featuring Sky Ferreira. The artist hadn’t released music since 2024, and marked her first collaboration with a big-name artist in Charli in 2026.
Collaborator Finn Keane’s production brings forth the world created by Emerald Fennell, one that could not have succeeded without this album. The director had previously asked for only one song, until the artist suggested an entire album to better encapsulate the vision of “Wuthering Heights.”
Other standout tracks include “Seeing Things”, “Funny Mouth”, and “Altars”. Each one is a classical-synth-electronic fusion of love, with autotune spoken lyrics of love, pain and despair. Charli sings, “As I kneel before your altar, I begin to cry… you were my perfect blue, My hands together in a search for proof.”
Though a few of the tracks can feel similar to each other at times, Charli’s lyricism and modernized theme bring forth the need for feeling in an epic drama such as this film. Each song focuses on the tensions seen between the two characters, Catherine and Heathcliff, played by Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
While some of the repeated tempos and lyrics bring some tracks down, the album is still able to shine and makes the most sense when seeing the film, as it creates the world Fennell is attempting to give audiences.
The “Wuthering Heights” soundtrack is a triumphant pivot for Charli xcx, who is only just getting started in her work on films. Its gothic, modern-pop sound marks a new beginning in the singer’s undebated discography, and will push her to new heights no matter what she does next.
