Music News

Charli xcx contributed a handful of songs to the soundtrack for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights film, and the first of the batch arrived on Monday (Nov. 10) with “House.”

An accompanying ominous “House” visual directed by Mitch Ryan (he also helmed Charli’s “Party 4 U” video) was released alongside the spooky single and features a guest appearance from Velvet Underground’s John Cale.

The eerie clip features narration from Cale as Charli awakens in a gloomy house and pours hot candle wax on her body. The scene pivots to a raven flying into one of the home’s bedrooms while the British pop star and Cale duet in a demonic tone: “I think I’m gonna die in this house.”

Dramatic strings reach a crescendo and Charli xcx unleashes a frightening scream while repeating, “I think I’m gonna die in this house.” “In every room, I hear silence,” Cale says to close out the visual. Charli moves from the home to lying on her back in a white dress on a pile of leaves in the barren woods.

It’s a stark pivot from the amusing chaos of the Brat world, showcasing Charli’s range as she continues to make her presence felt in Hollywood.

The 33-year-old released a statement explaining her involvement in the soundtrack and the origin of “House,” which she describes as “elegant and brutal.”

“I got a call from Emerald Fennell last Christmas asking whether I would consider working on a song for her adaptation of Wuthering Heights,” she said. “I read the script and immediately felt inspired so Finn Keane and I began working on not just one but many songs that we felt connected to the world she was creating. After being so in the depths of my previous album I was excited to escape into something entirely new, entirely opposite. When I think of Wuthering Heights I think of many things. I think of passion and pain. I think of England. I think of the Moors, I think of the mud and the cold. I think of determination and grit.”

Charli continued: “A few years ago I watched Todd Haynes’ documentary about The Velvet Underground. As many of you know I’m a huge fan of the band and was really taken by the documentary. One thing that stuck with me was how John Cale described a key sonic requirement of The Velvet Underground. That any song had to be both ‘elegant and brutal.’ I got really stuck on that phrase. I wrote it down in my notes app and would pull it up from time to time and think about what he meant.”

“When working on music for this film, ‘elegant and brutal’ was a phrase I kept coming back to. One day whilst on tour in Austin, Finn and I went to the studio and wrote the bones for a song that would eventually become “House.” When the summer ended I was still ruminating on John’s words. So I decided to reach out to him to get his opinion on the songs that his phrase had so deeply inspired, but also to see whether he might want to collaborate on any.”

“We got connected, we spoke on the phone and wow … that voice, so elegant, so brutal. I sent him some songs and we started talking specifically about ‘House.’ We spoke about the idea of a poem. He recorded something and sent it to me. Something that only John could do. And it was … well, it made me cry.”

“I feel so lucky to have been able to work with John on this song. I’ve been so excited to share it with you all, sitting quietly in anticipation. And on Monday, it’s yours.”

Wuthering Heights is set to hit theaters on Feb. 13. Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s gothic novel stars Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie. Charli xcx will also star in A24’s The Moment in early 2026, which is the first project coproduced by her Studio365 venture.

The Essex native is booked and busy on the film side, as she’s notched roles in Daniel Goldhaber’s remake of Faces of Death as well as I Want Your Sex, The Gallerist, 100 Nights of Hero and Sacrifice.

Winter is coming. Watch “House” below.