In 1978, Kate Bush released a shimmering single based on Emily Brontë’s only novel. In 2026, Charli XCX issued a compelling soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s – admittedly flimsy – movie of the same name. That is no mild comparison: in many ways, Charli XCX embodies the English quirkiness better than any female artist since Bush. Both women were inspired by a deeply British book, channelling Celtic heritage to transform the work into something more idiosyncratic and angular.
The Wuthering Heights soundtrack features Velvet Underground bassist John Cale on “House”, an eerie and ghostly recital. An austere cello bolsters the backdrop, brimming with an angular confidence. Where Bush relied on her Irish heritage to guide her, Charli XCX turns to Welsh folk music, immersing the work with memory, madness and hiraeth. “Dying for You” features textured soundscapes and a complex, multi-segmented pop number that shifts in tempo and timbre. “All the pain and torture I went through,” the vocalist screams, emulating the sensual urges felt between Cathy and Heathcliff.
As a work, this Wuthering Heights album is definitely evocative and occasionally cerebral, urging listeners to engage with its dramatic chordal changes with agitation and high alert. A cosy Frank Sinatra album, such as the cosy Sunday afternoonish Come Dance With Me!, it is not.
The sensual ballad “Always Everywhere” furthers the sexual metaphors, embodying a fiery undercurrent in both the chamber orchestra and the quietly lingering melody. “Open Up” cleverly applies autotune: vocal scats spiral over a vibrant keyboard design. The geography moves from the British Isles towards the African plains, Charli XCX chanting as Peter Gabriel did on post-Genesis standout “Biko”. Compared to the other tunes on Wuthering Heights, “Seeing Things” is arguably the most conventional-sounding work on the record, creating music that is sincere and measured yet still evokes a sense of vacancy and certain destruction. Wuthering Heights feels like it was shaped for Winter: darkness, remorse and appetites swimming around the emotional underpinnings.
“Chains of Love” shares a name with an Erasure single; the two are otherwise totally different. The Vince Clarke-penned number is pleasing and friendly, whereas Charli XCX bashes the audience with a torrid tale about abstinence. Many of the obvious elements of synthpop figure in the piece, allowing Charli XCX the opportunity to challenge herself as a singer. Eager to explore the theatrical elements of the work, the 2026 release of “Chains of Love” closes with a strident cello stroke.
Much of the work is singer and orchestra: violins screech and scratch in the manner of writing Morse code. Fervently, the performances grow more intense as the melodies’ persistence plummets. “Altars” carries animal DNA: a primordial instinct shaping the song at every point. “One is not the loneliest number,” shouts the singer, encouraging listeners to comment on their isolation and apathy. Good music, and this is great music, has the power to lead those listening into more personal layers of reflection. Wuthering Heights, a soundtrack, sure, has that sheen.
Inside or outside the Brontëverse, “My Reminder” has a bounciness that merits standalone listening. Surfeited with playful drum patterns, the vocals wrap tightly to the fuzzing see-saw keyboard undulating beneath the song. “Funny Mouth”, cemented by an Indian sounding drone, holds a dizzying middle eighth: a bridge that recalls the Beatles during the wacky “White Album” days. While there are Kate Bush-like flourishes throughout the soundtrack, the biggest comparison can be heard on “Wall of Sound”; vocals swoop up and down to create a fever-pop sound. Kate Bush and Charli XCX, in their own ways, challenge the vernacular of contemporary songcraft, a commitment that paid off for both women.