Damien Kanner-Bitetti ’25 is an English Major and American Studies minor from Arlington, VA. In addition to the Flat Hat, he is a member of Club B Soccer, Jewish Voice for Peace, a librarian for the Meridian Coffeehouse, and a DJ for WCWM. Email him at dskannerbitett@wm.edu.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
Brat Summer is ephemeral. It has few rules and even fewer inhibitions. Its few defining characteristics are shameless hedonism, lingering melancholy and an omnipresent lime green. It has inspired hundreds of parties, multiple popular TikTok dances, thousands of derivative memes and the alleged revitalization of indie sleaze. It has included presidential endorsements, seagull fancams, endless discourse on what it truly means to be “brat” and the coining of the phrase “work it out on the remix.” It is, in my opinion, the most fun, free-spirited and alive that pop music has felt in a long time. As this magical time period begins to wind down, it’s worth revisiting the music (and the marketing) that made Charli XCX’s “Brat” the album of the summer.
First, the music. As someone who has listened to Charli (on and off) since her 2020 album “How I’m Feeling Now,” I really enjoyed “Brat.” However, I don’t want to contribute to the endless stream of reviewers calling it her best work yet (which it is) or to the critics analyzing the implications of her push for commercial success (which are complicated). Instead, I’d like to just briefly touch on what I loved so much about the album, specifically its sound, structure and ethos.
Its roller-coaster vibe is centered around the contradictions inherent to a night out: thumping club rhythms clashing with insecurity and angst. Its imagery-heavy lyrics (most notable on “360,” “Club classics,” “Mean girls” and “Everything is romantic”) provide a compelling visual guide for the listener. They even extend to the point of direct orders (“keep bumpin that,” Charli says on “365”). This is all in the vein of classic club music, yet neither her insecurities, nor the album’s more experimental sound matches that. The production is innovative, top-notch and yet somehow so fluid that it seems generic, like common sense. The same is true of Charli’s more melancholic feelings, which either completely interrupt her partying (like on “I might say something stupid”) or contrast with more upbeat instrumentals (like on my personal favorite track, “Sympathy is a knife”). This contrast is the point, however, while “Brat” does it exceptionally well, it is not the first album to do so. This begs the question: What is so special about “Brat”?
For me, what makes “Brat” such a unique and interesting album are the many roles that Charli plays on it. She is a braggadocious, confident socialite on “Von dutch”; a (fashionably) relatably insecure celebrity on “Girl, so confusing”; a woman contemplating pregnancy on “I think about it all the time”; a nervous lover on “Talk talk.” She even takes on different roles sonically, becoming a vocal sample on “Club classics” and “365.” What is so special about “Brat” is how cohesive these disparate roles and viewpoints feel, revealing Charli’s ultimate role on the album: She positions herself as a curator, surrounding herself with only the best of pop culture. The album’s beats and lyrics, the stan-culture-oriented features on its remix, even the invites to Charli’s celebrity-studded 32nd birthday party — everything has been carefully and selectively chosen.
Charli’s curatorial role has not been limited to the music, either — and I think this is where the album’s success comes from. The album’s rollout has also been discussed and praised at length. The Boiler Room set, slow buildup of song releases, social media marketing and meme-ability of the album cover have all been covered extensively online. But it’s what Charli has done since releasing “Brat” that has stood out. In this day and age, mega-popular musicians often promote an album before, during and after its release. “Brat” promo, however, has been both relentless and unconventional. There have been Brat-themed walls, an airplane flyover sign and a deluxe version announced the same week as the original — all more in pursuit of digital aesthetics than direct-to-consumer outreach. Eschewing talk shows in favor of internet memes has resulted in unprecedented success for Charli, and in doing so, changed the course of our summers.
Overall, “Brat” has had a far-reaching cultural impact in many different arenas beyond music, including fashion, linguistics and politics. The most drastic impact, however, may be on WM AUXes — far from when I was bullied for playing “7 years” in my freshman hall, Charli XCX and “Brat” are here to stay.
