No other album cemented its status as a cultural phenomenon quite like Charli XCX’s “Brat.” The British pop star’s sixth LP debuted at number two and number three on the UK Albums Chart and Billboard 200, respectively, for her highest charting openings in her career.

Still, “Brat’s” true cultural relevance extends beyond sales figures. The album’s marketing includes its artwork, consisting of a green, low-resolution background with the title emblazoned on the front. This unassuming packaging serves as a foilto a common trope forced upon female pop acts. Oftentimes, music labels will repeatedly push a singer’s image on promotional material, thus converting the artist into a visual icon without the substance that comes with being a creative. A green square with blurred writing subverts expectations. Charli XCX is not new to such a concept, as imagery and lyrics tied to her previous studio album, “Crash,” satirized the idea of hyper-sexualization in pop culture.

“Brat’s” sonic influences lie in the rave scenes scattered across London in the early 2000s. This seems like a given, especially considering that Charli first found her footing in “illegal warehouse raves in Hackney.” Echoes of electropop are scattered throughout the album, especially in tracks like “Sympathy is a knife” and “B2B.” Charli also hones her bubblegum bass chops; most of “Brat’s” tracks can be identified by their plastic synths and rubbery drums, sometimes bordering on abrasive — undoubtedly a product of A.G. Cook’s input.

“Brat” presents a sort of nostalgia for a seemingly better time, namely one when electronic music and its underground subculture were not as mainstream as they currently are. Some have compared the album to the aesthetic of bloghouse, a loosely defined subculture from the aughts that was largely centered around DIY electronic production and a hedonistic party scene. These strands were interwoven by the proliferation of internet music blogs, allowing connections between fans and artists to feel like they could make it big. French house and electroclash were progenitors of the sound, yet the newly introduced digital globalization aspect of it all was what made it cutting edge.

Parts of this scene have been repackaged into an aesthetic that is more palatable for the generations that came after: “indie sleaze.” The term was largely popularized by the Instagram account with the same handle, which acts as an archive for photos taken during bloghouse’s heyday. Posts showcase musicians like M.I.A. and Santigold, oftentimes captured performing in cramped, dimly lit venues surrounded by exuberant partygoers.

One of the more prolific photographers during this period was Mark Hunter, known professionally as “The Cobrasnake.” More recently, he photographed Charli XCX’s 32nd birthday. This instance makes it all the more clearwhat Charli is trying to recapture with her album “Brat.” After reading between the lines of the album’s production and marketing, the lines between inspiration and inspired begin to blur. Delightfully dizzying electronic sounds — ripped open by sonic distortion and coated with riotous rhymes — feel at home in a bygone era, coated in spilled designer drugs.

Much like fashion, musical trends tend to be cyclical — look no further than the recent revival of disco-influencedsounds. It appears that we are veering towards the reappraisal and eventual resurgence of bloghouse beats. Songs from “Brat” dominated TikTok since the album’s release. Even Vice President Kamala Harris’s camp nodded at the associated scene, temporarily rebranding their social media profile to fit “Brat’s” artwork. This comes as a response to Charli XCX’s nod to the vice president, posting “Kamala IS Brat” on X. She recently stated that her tweet was not an endorsement, rather something “positive and lighthearted.”

It’s unclear if Harris herself participated in the bloghouse movement, but does that really matter? “Brat’s” immense success is a testament to our fixation on past experiences, even if we were not conscious of these happenings.