From the visual pleasures of Mary Sully to the cultural critique of Gary Simmons, to a lesson in Haitian art history, there’s plenty of great art to see right now. Before you keep reading, please consider supporting Hyperallergic’s journalism during a time when independent, critical reporting is increasingly scarce. As an independent publication, we rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, consider becoming a member today. She also revealed to the outlet that one track is inspired by her grief since the death of the late DJ and her former collaborator SOPHIE — who died in 2021 in a "terrible accident."
It’s not every day that an artist releases a record whose artwork gets imitated by the Sims, Gucci, and the UK’s Green Party. The singer said the super-basic lime green cover and blurry lowercase letters were a result of shifting funds to press photos. Elsewhere in the profile, Charli shared that while she’s interested in acting, she also would "kind of want[s] to make a Lou Reed record," which would definitely be a huge sonic pivot for her. But maybe it’s not that crazy — both are (arguable) gay icons who aren’t actually gay, and both succeeded in infusing their respective subcultures into mainstream music. It challenges the listener’s expectations of what pop music and its accompanying imagery should be. By doing so, Charli creates a dialogue around her work, inviting both fans and critics to engage with the album on a deeper level.
As she’s led down a long, low-ceiling hallway and hurried into her designated green room, her stiletto-heeled boots clack loudly on the concrete floor. As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. And this is why Estevez’s best friend, Tom Cruise, is so hot these days—and why he can afford to be perhaps the biggest Brat of all, at least insofar as the movie industry is concerned. He broke out of the pack with Risky Business and can now command not only a colossal salary but such perks as casting approval and script consultation, things bigger stars couldn’t dream of getting a decade ago.
Charli’s path from budding pop star to cult artist to cultural phenom has been both a long slog and an overnight success story. But even with that status — which would be more than enough for most musicians — she is an easily bored creative who is always looking for something different to inspire that creativity. Pisces is "I Might Say Something Stupid." Nobody does melancholy at the party like Pisces! You "don’t feel like nothin’ special," even though you obviously always are.
But it was smart, from a marketing standpoint, for Charli to use a political campaign to bolster her musical one. The cool kids were out in force at her first major public event of the era. In February 2024, Charli hosted a set for Boiler Room—an incredibly online platform that hosts events for underground-ish dance and electronic musicians—in a warehouse in Brooklyn to preview the brat gener era. It was for fans, but it was also the Brat era’s introduction to the media. 25,000 people RSVPed to the free event; only about 400 made it in the door. But if you were a journalist and offered to cover the event for a cool enough publication, you would be guaranteed a spot inside.
