“Brat” has made quite the splash this year, not just as a music album but as a full-blown branding sensation. Its infectious beats and provocative lyrics have spilled over from the airwaves into everything from political campaigns to fashion weeks, proving that “Brat” is more than just an album—it’s a cultural juggernaut.

Folx, are we witnessing yet another queer-pop renaissance? Absolutely! And I’m all here for it! The album, “Brat,” by Charli XCX, has been at the forefront of this very renaissance, and its release saved me from my usual monsoon blues this year. The eccentricity, the authentic yapper-specific lyrics, and the production genius of Charli makes me dance even when I want to cry, and is sheer perfection! It’s been 2.5 months since the album became the it-album, but there’s more to “Brat” than just music—it’s a cultural phenomenon in the making.

Some people are also calling this Recession-Core music, and we’re certainly getting there with the worsening of life-quality and everything collapsing. In such a time period, I did need to listen to something that gives me a glimmer of authenticity. And with Charli XCX declaring that “the city sewer slut’s the vibe”,  it became official that this will also be the queerest season of music we’ve witnessed since the 70s.

2024; Season of Brat Pride

When Troye Sivan’s single, Rush, came out, I remember thinking that he had brought EDM back from the grip of cis-het men and electro-pop house back home to its queer base. The trend swelled into a wave of promising for the music gays in 2024! The industry seems to have finally understood the assignment and con-queered the charts. I’ve been having an audibly gay time!

Also read: Barbie: A Hilarious, Reflective Tribute to the Cultural Legacy of a Queer Icon

As much as I loved being the alt music girlie for a bit in 2020, I’ve been craving good pop music. And Charlie-Ben XCX, the half-gujju queer icon, has served it to me on a silver platter!

Maybe I’m nostalgic for the summer of 2013 when I was still a teen, not yet burdened by the responsibilities of adulthood, blasting Boom Clap in my earphones. It felt like I could finally enjoy pop music again? Not because it was more socially acceptable, but because it was actually well-made!

Brat as an album sounds so different from the releases we’ve seen in the last couple of years. With it’s obvious fun sound, and the lyrics that are girl-trend certified, it feels freeing to just be while listening to it. While adult responsibilities are my constant companion today, the times I listen to Brat allow me to remind myself of all the different ways I can still have fun.

Having fun is surely difficult as an adult, but it’s important that we remind ourselves that we’re only here for sometime, so might as well have fun from time to time!

Also read: ‘Love is a Rainbow’: Queer Narratives in Popular Music

I think what made Brat, as an album and phenomenon, feel inviting was its initiative to just have fun this season. But I needed to get to scratching this itch of a question: What makes Charli’s music queer, despite her purportedly not being queer?

Bad Economy = More Queer Music?

This led me to reflecting on the history of what is considered queer pop. What makes an artist worthy of the queer icon title? It’s certainly not necessary that queer music meet certain criteria or that only a particular group of artists be allowed to make queer music. There’s no particular sound either – just think about the diversity in Chappell Roan’s discography, for instance?

Also read: No Chappell, I’m not Gonna!

I am convinced that we are in a timewarp, returning to the 1970s when the economy was down, inflation was high and so were crimes against queer folx. Have you also noticed this pattern of dance music becoming popular during recessions, especially in the west? Disco and synth were especially popular during the 1970s and 1980s.

The 70s were also a good time for queer pop icons to emerge, leading to the wonderful music of Queen, Abba, David Bowie, George Micheal and Elton John. Their music was one of my first introductions to queer artists and music. While their music may be considered as classics today, they sure were not as widely loved back when they were still active.

Brat For “President”

Considering these past trends, in the present, with the endlessly bad economic woes, it makes sense that Charli xcx’s Brat summer is popular at a time when there’s literally no good news. There’s also Kamala Harris’ infamous Brat campaign that has made America’s otherwise dead-end elections this year marginally interesting to observe. Her entering the US presidential candidacy, being considered slightly “better news” than Trump didn’t really make me (a non-American, who is impacted nonetheless, thanks 2 globalization!) happy since all bi-partisan American politicians  seem to be cut from the same cloth of settler-greed, racism, and bigotry.

Politics is a mess, the economy is down, unemployment rates are insanely high and so is the price of rent, healthcare, and basic groceries. What’s one to do but live through these days with the glimmer of good time that music and the arts offer?

A Sour Goodbye

That glimmer of hope has come to a disappointed end for me, over the recent collaboration news of fast fashion goon, H&M, and Charli xcx over an autumn collection. Brat as a phenomenon that was supposed to be a freeing, cheap-thrill vibe to summer has become a weapon of approval from not just politicians like Kamala Harris but also the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

The H&M collab was truly a nail in Brat Summer’s coffin because H&M, a fast-fashion company known to exploit its workers. The collection features multiple clothing items that are “faux fur” and “faux leather”, which is basically just plastic. I think we’re way past the need for more plastic in our closet.

Brat was meant to be a political shift in the way art (particularly music) is created, but can it be that Charli just sold Brat for a few more dimes?

Special mention: Even the NATO, recently tweeted this image, which further drives me away from this album that has been a constant support through my monotonous days.

With every evil late stage capitalist mechanism enabled, Brat summer was exactly the serotonin boost I needed. It’s been fantastic for my ears and brain. But I doubt I will be returning to this album anytime soon, simply because of what it’s developed into.