🎶 Listening to Brat by Charli XCX.

I’m sure everyone will have heard this album. It was an absolute sensation last year, and created a whole swathe of “Brat whatever” memology. It was of course the Brat summer. Even Kamala Harris' doomed campaign (remember when we had hope?) surfed the wave.

On my first listen it didn’t really impress me. But as the week went on I found myself bits and pieces of its songs re-entering into my mind, unsolicited. So I gave it another go, and another, and another, so I guess I’m well and truly sucked in.

And I’m not alone - it’s currently sitting at a “Universal acclaim” score of 95 on Metacritic. As well as the catchy pop hooks, I think it has a depth that isn’t immediately obvious on a first background listen.