While we may not explicitly be in a ‘recession’, we certainly are experiencing instability. A quick look at housing crises, job layoffs, rising food prices and constant discourse around the threat of a recession has been keeping people around the world on edge, and in such moments of tension, what many need is a release. If not the naiveté to believe it, we crave the illusion that we live in a care-free world. Music is an effective form of escapism through which listeners can romanticise their life, and this is no exception in the current day as we see an increasing appeal in electronic club pop (club classics, if you will). With Charli xcx’s sixth studio album brat having come out in June 2024, the internet was quick to classify the entire summer as ‘brat’. Neon green, clubs and house parties, experimental clothing: those became the staples of the season, but what’s perhaps most important about this moment in pop culture is everyone’s decision to embrace carelessness and FUN. Dance all night like you don’t have work in the morning and rent to pay. Get your girlfriends and sing to Charli’s vibrant bass beats and playful lyrics – that’s what ‘brat summer’ has been all about.  

To stray for a minute from the fun of it all, let’s observe the correlation between economic state and musical interest. We can compare some of the most popular music in 2021, when the GDP growth in the UK was 8.7%, to 2024 GDP rate of 0.6%. The lead album in 2021 was Adele’s ‘30’, which was a mix of pop, soul, and jazz. Though some of the tracks, such as ‘Oh My God’, may call for a groove, the popularity of the singer can be better attributed to the emotional impact of her powerful voice and lyrics. brat, while tackling themes of insecurities, fame and girlhood, does so in a way that makes the listeners want to stand up and dance it all away. Personally, songs such as ‘Girl, so confusing’ and ‘Sympathy is a knife’ felt relatable and cathartic, but rather than sulking or overthinking the struggles that I connected with, it made me want to break free from them. As Brave Agency content executive Nathan Evans describes it, ‘she has reintroduced to audiences what makes pop music fun in the first place – its simplicity and capacity to start a party.’ And that is precisely the reaction that explains why in a time that the economy feels so unstable, the immediate desire is to mask the helplessness of the global situation by a utopia of flashing lights and endless nights. People are already burdened by the responsibilities of mundane life, and what they need is a release. This is strongly reminiscent of the end of 2000’s to beginning of 2010’s obsession with recession pop, which New York times critic Jon Pareles then described as “recession-era music: low budget and danceable.” 

The Great Recession of the 2000s was the most economically challenging time since the 1930s Great Depression. With it came the booming popularity of artists such as Kesha, Britney Spears, Pitbull, and many more. The message of their music wasn’t lyrical depth, but rather the notion that an ideal life was one where everyone could come together and dance. With high unemployment rates, it is obvious that no one was certain about how they can keep up a good quality of life, but lyrics such as ‘We’re taking control, we get what we want, we do what you don’t’ (‘Blow’, Kesha), implied the contrary. This rang true even a century ago: in the 1930s, one of the most popular songs was Shep Fields’s cover of ‘Whistle While You Work’, singing ‘When there’s too much to do don’t let it bother you.’ It is natural that the best a burdened person can do is focus on the bright side, and there is a clear pattern that suggests music has been used to keep heads high above crumbling economies. To draw on a personal example, a song I play to snap myself out of pessimism has been ‘SexyBack’ by Justin Timberlake for many years. It turns my mind off and enables me to let loose without thinking too deeply about the lyrics or my own thoughts. And now, Charli is giving young people the chance to imagine a life about being a ‘365 party girl’, and with the album inspiring over seventy-one thousand posts with the hashtag #bratsummer, her message has clearly been embraced with open arms. 

Where does that leave us all now as we move into autumn? It’s important to keep our spirits high through means that are available to us, whether that is music, time spent with friends, or a solo dance party in your living room. Brat summer may be over, but Pop music is sure to help carry us above anxieties that otherwise may seem unavoidable.