The New 'Brat' Variant: Timeless Or Tasteless?
Featured Image Credit - Robyn Beck/Getty Images
Late April '24 saw the release of Charli XCX's single '360' and a star-studded music video. Shortly after 'brat' was released, in all its green glory, fuzzy Arial font and all... 'brat summer' was imminent. A deluxe version followed, featuring three more tracks and a white cover this time, but the signature fuzzy Arial font remained. While ‘brat summer’ may be long gone, Charli XCX certainly isn’t finished.
History was made. Kamala Harris adopted the ‘brat’ aesthetic for her social media campaign during the '24 presidential race, and ‘Apple’ achieved TikTok virality after creator Kelley Heyer uploaded a video of her dancing to the track, and XCX herself recreated the dance.
Autumn brought ‘brat and it’s completely different but also still brat', which has quickly become one of the most popular remix albums to date, featuring reworked versions of 'brat' fan favourites, with fans' favourite artists.
It was coupled with billboards and advertisements dotted around the world promoting each collaboration.
It’s 2025, and we’ve had our joyous 'brat summer.' Hell, we’ve even had our broody 'brat autumn.' Yet, we’re still not through with ‘brat.’ On 31st January 2025, online merchants Blood Records announced their latest drop in collaboration with specialty pressing company Bad World... a limited edition variant of ‘brat and it’s completely different.’ In an Instagram post, Blood Records show off this specialty vinyl, which is pressed with a ‘white powder’ that twirls with the record as it's played.
If you're unfamiliar, ‘365’ should clear up what this white powder is intended to represent, as Charli questions in her lyrics ‘Should we do a little key? Should we have a little line?’
Any avid Charli XCX fans won't be surprised at the route Charli has taken for this specialty vinyl, it’s hardly a secret that XCX (or at least her public persona) is partial to party drugs. The dates for the ‘brat’ arena tour were layered over an image of a clear plastic baggy, she dubs herself a party girl, and during her Ibiza Boiler Room set she can be spotted ducking beneath the decks to presumably… tie her shoelaces? Whatever way you look at it, illicit drugs have featured heavily within brats marketing.
Drug usage, especially in party culture, hardly comes as a surprise anymore. Sure, it may literally be a crime, but if we locked up and cancelled everyone who used drugs, you wouldn't have any music left to listen to. I mean, you can forget Black Sabbath.
Yet with this recent vinyl variant, I’ve started to wonder, where is the line? At what point does this stray away from just an album aesthetic into glamorising a drug which can be so harmful if misused? Moreso, to what end are musicians like Charli XCX responsible for the promotion of drugs to their audience, when it is inherently tied to the art they've created?
The Office for National Statistics released a report in October 2024 discussing deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales during 2023. It found that since 2012 the rate of deaths caused by drug poisoning has increased every year - reaching 93 deaths per million in 2023. Between England and Wales 5,448 deaths related to drug poisoning were recorded, and of this number 3,618 were linked to drug misuse. That's over 66%.
Furthermore, registered deaths related to cocaine use rose from 857 to 1,118 (a 30.5% rise). It's not a stretch to surmise that drug misuse is a serious issue which is on the rise and shouldn’t be adopted for marketing purposes. Maybe an artist nominated for ten Grammys this year should be more mindful of the aesthetic they are promoting?
Charli XCX's rise in fame this year has led to her increased visibility in the public eye, and whilst I believe there's a difference between a creative's public persona and the real individual underneath, this line can become blurred... particularly for younger fans. Where does Charli XCX end and Charlotte Aitchison begin? They simply don't know. So, when in the public eye, greater consideration over the potential consequences of certain branding would not go amiss. As the saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
While XCX should not compromise her artistic vision to fit into a clean, legal box, I feel like this vinyl variant has crossed the line, it isn't staying true to artistic intent but profiting off of a very serious, real-world issue.
I am not out to cancel Charli XCX, let's be real I will continue to bump ‘brat’ and all of its remixes. But, it is as important for us as consumers, to consider the impact of the products we buy and subsequently support, as it is for the admired creatives that are making them. Especially those who are as beloved as XCX. Was this vinyl variant absolutely necessary when it can be seen as trivialising a topic that is directly linked to a rising number of deaths?
For me, the answer is no.
