I can confidently say that Charli XCX’s Brat is the album of the summer for music lovers and internet users alike. Although Charli has been a representative of the party-pop girl since the beginning of her career, shouting things like “I don’t care, I love it” for over a decade, her experimental pop music has reached a relatively small fanbase until now. So what is it about Brat, compared to her previous work, that is causing such hysteria among the masses? A big part of Brat’s success lies in the fact that way more people are starting to “get” hyperpop. This overly processed, high-speed, euphoric sub-genre may have seemed a little tacky and annoying in the early days of PC Music and Hannah Diamond and was appreciated by few. But, with our ever-dwindling attention spans and constant seek for dopamine hits, it is these short, catchy, synthetic songs, with excessive autotune and quantization, usually in the major key that people are becoming more and more addicted to.
Songs like “360,” “Apple,” and “Talk Talk” use simple beats and very basic melodies, but the highly relatable and conversational lyrics, mixed with pop culture references like “I’m so Julia,” create something that is so catchy and pleasing to the brain that you can’t help but love it, even if you kind of hate it.
While I found that the album had quite a few skips and was not as innovative as albums such as How I’m Feeling Now or Pop 2, there are definitely songs that moved me. “Everything is Romantic” is like nothing I have ever heard before, with whirling strings, weird lyrical phrasing, and a sparse techno break; “Club Classics,” co-produced by A.G. Cook and George Daniel, is another favourite of mine. The bass, vocals, and synth all seem to have slightly different keys, but they work in an evocative and beautiful way.
It would be remiss to overlook the flawless marketing and rollout of the album. From creating a separate Instagram called “360_brat” over a year before the album dropped to painting a wall green in New York, the anticipation and buzz around Brat was unmatched; it is the album that keeps on giving. With a steady flow of remixes being released, featuring the likes of Addison Rae, Lorde, and Billie Eilish, new fans are continually sprouting and listeners are diving deeper into the lore behind the songs, and the relationships between the artists singing them.
While Brat may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it brilliantly showcases the power of the internet and effective marketing. Despite it not being my favourite of Charli’s albums, I still sit eagerly awaiting her next move; who will be on the next remix, what is the next music video going to look like, how do I reach that level of effortlessly cool?
