The arrival of Slayyyter’s “BEAT UP CHANEL$” marked the beginning of the Missouri-born artist’s third studio album cycle on Aug. 1, 2025.
An abrasive, quotable, and unapologetically materialistic track, the lead single marked an exciting new era for the cult-followed pop artist.
Slayyyter, legally named Catherine Grace Garner, got her start in the hyperpop scene of the late 2010s and early 2020s, dropping her self-titled mixtape independently on Sep. 17, 2019.
It would be on her following two albums, “Troubled Paradise” and “Star******”, that she would release under the record label FADER.
Troubled Paradise, the official debut album for Garner, held a lot of the same hyperpop sensibilities of her 2019 mixtape, as well as similarities to albums from her contemporaries like Charli xcx’s “how i’m feeling now.”
The album did veer off into more conventional electronic and synthpop, often times as well, a sound that she’d capitalize on more fully with her 2023 album “Star******.”
The glamorous atmosphere and production reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster”, as well as vocals mirroring those of Britney Spears, made Star****** feel straight out of a 2000s pop time capsule.
While all of these projects cultivated a dedicated group of fans, the lack of major label backing and an everlasting search to lock down a sonic identity in her music held her back from a truly explosive breakthrough.
The release of “No Comma” in 2024 would break down that expectation with flying colors. With bass-heavy, industrial-inspired instrumentation and an unhinged, oft-sexual delivery, Slayyyter established a track that felt entirely her own.
It would carry over into her next album rollout, and it was not just the release of “BEAT UP CHANEL$” that would make this evolution clear.
Upon the single’s release, it was also announced she had signed her first deal with a titanic record labels, as she became a part of Columbia Records.
With more budget and promotional wiggle room, as well as a steady, yet anticipated run of singles including the fuzzy pop-rock cut “CANNIBALISM!”, the blaring and quotable “CRANK”, and implicitly-titled sound of “DANCE…”, the anticipation for third studio album “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA”, which was announced to release Mar. 27 shortly after the release of “DANCE…”, became palpable.
One final single, “OLD TECHNOLOGY”, which hit on a lot of the same loud, rock-n-roll tinged beats as its predecessors, was released in February, and approximately a month later, the long-awaited album was finally released to the public.
A distinct feature of not just the music but the aesthetics of the album was a sense of more raw and dark energy. Gone were the days of glitz and glamour, and instead, listeners were consigned to the feelings and artistic depiction of a woman who expressed every ounce of her midwestern roots.
That isn’t to say that the album sounds nothing like her previous works, but on “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA”, Slayyyter starts wearing her influences on her sleeve rather than putting on their costumes.
The seventh track, “YES GODDD”, for example, would not sound out of place on a Justice record, but with Slayyyter’s cathartic delivery buried underneath the song takes on a form that is more unique to her.
Another aspect which brings “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” to major heights in quality is the vulnerability that is littered throughout the project, especially in the second half.
After all five singles run their course to open the tracklist, “GAS STATION” provides a Crystal Castles-esque soundscape over a chorus referencing when Garner’s father left her at a gas station after an argument.
The eleventh track, “$T. LOSER”, hammers home the lyrics “I think about you, do you think about me?”, hammering home the urge to be acknowledged by somebody whom you cannot help but think about.
The tracks’ juxtaposition between abrasive, industrial production and the raw, grounded lyricism is a balance that can be seen in other electronic pop releases of recent years, such as the ever-present “BRAT” by Charli xcx.
Perhaps the most raw theme of them all is found in the final two full-length tracks sandwiching the album’s interlude; those being “WHAT IS IT LIKE, TO BE LIKED?”, and “BRITTANY MURPHY.” Both of them contain lyrics relating to suicidal ideation in some capacity.
The latter, which is the album’s closing track, names itself after the late actress Brittany Murphy and illustrates the parallels that Slayyyter sees between her and Murphy if she were to take her own life.
In the bridge and towards the end of the second verse in the song, she has already taken her life, and these bars serve as posthumous reflections, such as the self-deprecating “is my face too disgusting for open casket?”
Though still a fresh project all things considered, what “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” delivered to listeners was her foot on the gas pedal, developing a true powerhouse of concise, hooky, and infectious-sounding songs while also finding herself at her most vulnerable state.
Where she goes next after a moment such as this is far from determined, but the project is easily her biggest and most accomplished step yet.
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