Charli XCX Gone (CDS)

We already know Charli is one of the best albums of 2019. As for its Christine and the Queens feature, “Gone”? As Charli already knows, it’s the best of the best. Laden with pummeling synths, it’s one of her biggest and brashest tracks, propelled forward by twin forces of rage and confusion and finally exploding into punchy fragments. Charli and Christine’s Héloïse Letissier might be singing about two-faced record executives or enormous, intimidating industry parties, but they speak for anyone feeling anxious and misunderstood in a search for validation. “Am I smoke? Am I the sun? / And who decides?” asks Letissier, wondering who determines her worth. In the end, Charli and Letissier don’t need anyone’s approval: “Gone” overflows with sheer power. —Amanda Gersten