Album Review: Charlotte Sands – Satellite
4.0 / 5
The Blue-Haired Alt-Icon Hits Her Best Orbit Yet
Since 2018, alt-pop star Charlotte Sands has been busy pumping out tracks that hop everywhere from bedroom pop to dance to metalcore. On her latest record Satellite, she finally locks into a stable orbit, blending all those chaotic elements into a consistently rocking alternative album that’s undeniably her best work yet.
Sands is well known in alt-rock scenes for her vibrant blue hair, her features with bands like Taking Back Sunday and Sleeping With Sirens, and for hitting the charts with her debut album Love and Other Lies. Musically, she sits somewhere between the emo sensibilities of her touring contemporaries and the vocal grit of artists like Halsey or Olivia Rodrigo. On Satellite, she has fully embraced "hyperpop-metal" concepts, reminiscent of the genre-shifting risks we’ve seen from Bring Me The Horizon lately. It’s a bold move, but as she prepares to tour Europe this summer supporting Simple Plan, it’s clear she has cemented herself in the world of modern alt-emo and is absolutely nailing the vibe.
On the title track, Sands jumps straight into this new world. It hits with a classic quiet-loud dynamic—soft, shimmering verses that explode into a bright, heavy chorus—and speaks to the fear of being reliant on someone while being too committed to leave. The production across the whole record is top-tier. Producers Keith Sorrells and Oscar Linnander have delivered snappy drums and a tight, polished sound that serves as a great example of modern metalcore meets pop.
The heart of the album is "HUSH," a metal-dance banger that feels like it was built for club floors and mosh pits alike. It’s got an incredibly infectious hook that stays in your head for days, prove that Sands can lean into the heavy stuff without losing her pop ear. That energy carries into "Afterlife," where the "hyperpop" influences really shine through with glitchy electronic sections dancing through the heavy riffs.
The emotional weight of the record is perhaps most noticeable on “neckdeep,” where Sands delivers one of her most vulnerable performances yet. When she sings, “Why would you tell me that you're neck deep, when you're really one foot out?”, you can feel the frustration of a dishonest relationship.
The final stretch of the album brings the volume down slightly but keeps the emotional core high. Tracks like “Water Me Down” and the closer “Sunday” let her pop roots shine through, offering a moment of reflection after the chaos of the earlier tracks. They feel like a necessary exhale, proving that she doesn't need a wall of guitars to hold your attention.
Satellite is at its best when it's embracing this specific mix of dance, alternative, and emo. It’s a hard-hitting record that surpasses anything Charlotte has done before, putting her at the front of a small group of artists successfully pushing heavy alt-music into the mainstream. We can’t wait to see how these tracks translate to the stage this summer.