Victoria Park welcomed the BRAT herself for the penultimate send-off of this momentous album (on British soil, at least)
A sea of green, which I would argue would have been harder for Moses to part. When I think back to June 14th, this will be the image that sticks in my head. I was, of course, contributing to this aesthetic. Green shirt, green shoes, my white socks had two green hoops at their summit. I fit right in. Though I will say, the dress code didn’t help efforts to find your friends (more on this later). You couldn’t see the grass for the green.
It’s no surprise really. Despite Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s best efforts, last summer belonged to Charli xcx. She transcended genres. It was the perfect storm. A known – but not too mainstream (and thus over-hated) – pop artist, with genuine connections to the burgeoning genres of anti-pop and hyperpop, bringing those influences together for a perfectly unique, progressive, and well-crafted example of how to make them mainstream, all in 41 minutes.
Four months later, and we’d been blessed with a new version of every single song on the album. Each had been reworked. Each was a collaboration. Collaborations ranged from some of the hottest names in pop (Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Troye Sivan), to some of those artists who’d contributed so heavily to the scene that BRAT blossomed from (A.G. Cook, Shygirl), to Bon Iver, of all people. While not as consistent as the first, it was still a game changer, and you’ve got to respect remixes that rework the song, rather than the all-too-common trend of just adding a rap verse to a track and calling it a remix.
In summary:
BRAT summer à BRAT autumn à BRAT winter.
It was a BRAT year.
And apparently so is 2025 (?)
The hype will die down – I don’t think we’re too far from this – BUT, if I am to believe my eyes, we’re not there yet.
This has all culminated in Charli curating an entire festival day for Lido, with 070 Shake and The Dare among those joining her at Victoria Park. The excitement for this was off the scale, especially given the remix/collab album and her tendency for bringing out other artists for big moments like this (Robyn, Yung Lean, and Caroline Polachek all made an appearance at her London shows a few months back). Was there a chance that Addison Rae – or better yet Lorde (who carved out one of the greatest musical moments of last year with her addition to the Girl, so confusing remix) – would be joining her for the closing set?
I don’t want to bring the tone down, but I’m not the greatest fan of Victoria Park day festivals. Feel free to blame it on my run-in with security two years ago – I was in the right, they bullied me, next time I’ll film it – or on the lack of signal, or on the fact that the artists’ sets on both stages seem to cut into each other way more than at similar festivals. Blame it on whatever you want. But there’s something about the overall vibe that just doesn’t sit right with me.
Admittedly, being in a group of ten people was a nightmare to navigate, and I spent much more time than I would have liked sitting between the stations trying to work out who I was waiting for. I did like getting two free Asahi bags though – and I’m not sure if that would have been possible without such long intermissions.
So yeah, I didn’t see as many artists as I maybe would have liked. Or certainly less than I would have liked looking back at it retrospectively. But hindsight is 20/20 and my free meditation/mindfulness app would tell me that it’s better to focus on the people I did see.
It’s amazing to me how an artist like The Japanese House can have so many bangers. So many lyrics that so many people know, with not that much attention and not that many monthly listeners. 2.5 million is by no means anything to scoff at, but as I was double-checking whether it’s ‘The Japanese House’ (it is) or just ‘Japanese House’ (it isn’t), I was shocked to see that Something Has to Change is only their eighth most popular song. It had felt like everyone in the crowd was singing it back to them.
I’ve seen The Japanese House once before, in the student union in Newcastle a couple of years back. They were good. But a festival with the sun beaming down feels like more of what their music was made for. The indie pop was essential. It was feel-good. It was a great way to start the day before we lost everyone. I guess we had been warned: something had to change.
After a not-so-brief intermission, it was Bladee’s turn to shine. I don’t know much about Bladee outside of his Yung Lean collaborations and Drain Gang membership. I liked Crest, the album he released with Ecco2k three years ago. I rate what they’re doing over in Scandinavia, even if it isn’t 100% my thing. I did want to see him going into the festival, but, in all the chaos, I probably owe it to my friend for pushing hard to actually get us there.
Yeah, it was good. It was interesting to see the crossover between Charli xcx and Bladee fans – they have collaborated together, and cloud rap certainly overlaps with hyperpop. However, this was probably the time when I was surrounded by the least green. Suggesting that either Bladee was one of the only other artists where people were there to see him (Charli aside of course), or that the Bladee/Charli xcx fan crossover types don’t have much green in their wardrobe. Everyone seemed to be having a great time though.
I didn’t know Bladee like that. He also didn’t wow me. But I’ll continue to check out any project he releases going forward and I’m glad to see the cloud rap dynasty hasn’t lost any momentum.
Then it was Charli. What do I say? It was huge, truthfully. For most people in attendance, it was their first time seeing her and there’d been so much build up to this moment ever since BRAT dropped 53 weeks before. I’ve spoken to a decent number of people who went since, and many others, like me, weren’t in love with the festival itself, but we all said the same thing: Charli was great. You can’t really deny it.
The disappointments? A) Bladee was the only artist to come out with her. I suppose Lorde was a longshot, her being on the other side of the planet and all. B) she didn’t play I think about it all the time. That’s my favourite song off BRAT and certainly the most underrated. It’s not necessarily the upbeat party girl vibe, but it was missed.
360, 365, Von dutch, Everything is romantic, I could go on. All hits. All bangers. So happy I managed to catch Charli xcx in her BRAT era – and lucky too.
Aside from some other European dates, it’s my belief that her Glastonbury set on the Saturday night will be the last we see of this pure BRAT era. At least with as much hype and flavour surrounding it. Nothing lasts forever, and it does feel like it’s time for something else to move in. Charli has discussed new music and said whatever comes next won’t be anything like BRAT. Rightly so. Chasing that again can only end in disappointment.
If you are lucky enough to be going to Glastonbury, be careful if trying to see Charli xcx. I was there the year she did a DJ set, and it was heaving about half an hour before she started, nobody new being let in. She’s on the Other Stage, which was way too small for Avril Lavigne last year, but apparently they’re expanding it. They better have done some serious work.
Doechii’s playing at the same time on the Pyramid Stage – another artist enjoying a huge moment. She may take away some potential audience members, but Glastonbury and the BRAT finale go so perfectly hand in hand that I would be sure to get to the Other Stage as early as possible if that’s your calling.
I won’t be there. Still fuming about that. Next up for me is Tramlines in Sheffield. Pulp. Rizzle Kicks. Natasha Bedingfield. Mainly Pulp. But I’d be lying if I said teenage Alex isn’t gonna be coming out for a drive down nostalgia avenue.
Until then.
- Alex Ferry (Head of Music)
