Charli XCX’s Hollywood blitz letting up. In addition to starring alongside an ensemble cast in the historical fantasy 100 Nights of Hero and leading her upcoming A24-produced mockumentary The Moment, the former Maxim cover star is scoring an entire companion album for Wuthering Heights, a film adaptation of the classic English novel.
The music video for “Chains of Love” animates a single from that original soundtrack. In it, the British pop sensation dances, writhes, and levitates in an eerily empty, high-class dining hall. A dulled, almost monochromatic camera lens adds more unease to the atmosphere, which serves to mirror the arrangement of a mostly anthemic track that’s lent contrast by dissonant, reverberating strings.
On X, Charli XCX wrote more about the inspiration behind “Chains of Love.” “This was one of the last songs I finished writing for this project,” she wrote. “It was important to us for this song to feel like it was on the brink of brokenness whilst still being totally luscious, sumptuous and orgasmic. It kind of makes me feel on overload.”
She also revealed that the song was the product of late nights out her longtime collaborator Finn Keane. “Finn and I were working at Rue Boyer studios in Paris during last fashion week and we were going out constantly. Every night ended at 6am, with us sitting on the floor in some Parisian apartment with a random french girl talking about philosophy or some other shit. It felt cinematic and also ridiculous,” she said.
“We were both delirious and sleep deprived but sometimes I find that being in that state provides an almost childlike state of mind which can be really helpful for writing songs instinctually,” Charli XCX continued. “You drop all fear and just commit wholeheartedly to a melody, an idea, a feeling no matter how stupid or perfect it ends up being. I find that it’s a really freeing atmosphere to write within, but it’s also pretty exhausting so we did get massages right after we finished the song.”
While “Chains of Love” features very little of the EDM soundscape typically associated with Charli XCX’s previous work—including the Grammy-winning, culture-shaping 2024 album Brat—it’s much more accessible than Wuthering Heights’ first single “Home.” The collaboration between the 33-year-old superstar and prolific 83-year-old composer John Cale, who co-founded the Velvet Underground with Lou Reed and went on to release an array of studio albums and soundtracks is nothing short of hair-raising. The track features a dark spoken-word poem by Cale, a squealing string ensemble, and a electronically-altered vocal performance from Charli XCX that that straddles the line between singing and bellowing.
Watch the “Chains of Love” and “Home” videos below:
