CARA DELEVINGNE - Not Normal

Cara Delevingne is hardly the first top model to lend herself to the world of music. Still, it was obvious from the start that her recording debut was never going to be some well-mannered acoustic-guitar-and-voice exercise, a little something à-la Carla Bruni, so to speak, nor was it going to be just another pop record. The debut album from the model, writer, actress, LGBT rights activist and British millennial icon, however, delivers a sound that goes well beyond even the most exotic expectations one might have harboured.
Sure, having BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Charli XCX) behind the mixing desk and Fiona Apple as the project's patron saint certainly helps, but it has to be said that "Not Normal" is a record thoroughly in keeping with Cara Delevingne's eccentric persona. After all, Cara has never been interested in projecting a conventional model of beauty, so why should her musical mask be any different?

After an already heavily digital intro titled "Lights Up", BJ Burton makes his presence forcefully felt, rattling the cyber-punk pop song "I Forgot" with tectonic interference worthy of latter-day Low. It's the launchpad for a record marked by hyper-defined electronic landscapes that provide the backdrop for slinking pop songs like "Out Of My Head", dancefloor bangers like "Need It" (co-written with Fiona Apple), and episodes drafting in the wake of "Brat" such as "Looking For You".
When the tempo drops ("The Mask", "What Love Is Like", "Slow Down"), Cara Delevingne lets slip contemporary anxieties and a sense of disorientation in a society that does nothing to encourage spontaneity.
In a second half that's less compelling than the first, there's still a gem shining through called "Crazy, Baby", a potential postmodern hit marked by gritty guitar riffs and a thoroughly satisfying chorus.

"Not Normal" isn't a groundbreaking record, nor does it invent anything new, but it's surprising for the consistently high quality of its songs, and it rightfully places Cara Delevingne among the most interesting pop songwriters working in the hyper-pop sphere today.

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30/09/2026