BRAT Fails to Redefine Indie Sleaze
Charli XCX’s summer album, “BRAT” has induced a cultural mania. When the mainstream media got its hands on Charli XCX’s collection of playful pieces, it classified the season as a “BRAT Summer”, making the internet go green. With the nature of this album, it's no surprise that resurgence of indie sleaze “aesthetics” followed.
Lyrics rejecting conformity, embracing personal style, and finding the beauty in disarray, perfectly encapsulates indie sleaze to its core.
“BRAT” features a mix of high-energy electronic tracks, with themes of finding yourself, rebellion, and romanticizing the “hot mess”-iness that every indie sleaze person embodies one way or another. She especially targets this in her song called “Mean Girls” which she dedicates to misunderstood girls that may come off as cold-blooded, and a little threatening.
In that track, she relates to them, and it is a love letter for all the noncompliant girls out there. Naturally, “BRAT” intertwined with indie sleaze. Charli’s genre of music isn't classified as indie, however, her known partygirl shtick and how she made a name for herself in the industry is; promoting her music by going to clubs at the mere age of 14.
Despite the fact that Chrli XCX started her career more than a decade ago, and with her songs frequently being on the radio, she was perceived as a non-mainstream artist by Gen Z, that is, until recently. “BRAT” unveiled an early 2010s lifestyle unknown to the masses, late nights, going to shows, drink spilling and all ways of life that come off a little sleazy.
“BRAT Summer” has come to an end, and “indie sleaze” may be on the rise, but it’s now something someone can purchase. Users on Tik Tok have a long history of taking more esoteric concepts, and popularizing them into an aesthetic of clothing someone can buy. With an aesthetic being labeled as “indie sleaze” popping up more and more on the algorithm, it is safe to assume that this is one of those cases.
However, it was never a purposeful look, it’s just what happens when adults who are in the scene go out until 4am. This time period wasn’t defined by a unique style, it was merely outdated portrayals of people having fun, oblivious to their picture being taken. This especially applies to the photography of that era, which was very loosely orchestrated and has lost its candid fashion in recent years. Photographers at shows and parties made sure to use flash and always capture the surprised faces of attendees and their funky attire. The internet declared a photographer named Mark Hunter (’03), a pioneer of “indie sleaze” photography. Hunter attended Samo 1999-2003, and learned to take pictures in the dark rooms at school. While speaking with Hunter, an opinion on what indie sleaze is arises,
“I wouldn’t say it’s a certain brand, or clothes you could wear. It's more of a lifestyle. And for me, that’s being your true self. It doesn’t mean you have to dress a certain way” Hunter said. “It’s just be who you wanna be, I think indie sleaze and the era that’s coming back again is a celebration of uniqueness. The underdogs can feel like they are also the rock stars.
When trying to to capture the essence of indie sleaze in 2024, it seems those trying, contradict it’s core. There’s no style that comes with it except unapologetic sloppiness. Nobody can buy the look on someone's face when they don’t care about the way people perceive them. It is simply ignorant bliss, something that Gen Z heavily lacks. Planning a photoshoot, outfits, and making sure everyone who watches perceives you in an ultra specific way, is the opposite of indie sleaze. The art of genuinely not caring and having fun, has been replaced with building a perfectly tailored persona using an online presence.