There are a lot of candidates for Song of the Summer: Sabrina Carpenter’s earworm “Espresso.” Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby.” Maybe it’s Kendrick Lamar’s menacing “Not Like Us,” a diss track so vicious that it might force Drake into witness protection.
But there’s no doubt who’s winning the competition for Album of the Summer: It’s Charli XCX. Brat—an all-rips, no-skips electropop fantasia—has taken over the summer zeitgeist for Gen Z and millennials, at least for those on the leftward side of the culture wars. Across social media, queer and straight fans alike are posting about their “Brat era” or having a “Brat summer.” It was inevitable that brands and politicians would try to get in on the Brat hype cycle. Including Joe Biden.
