MUSIC PREMIERES
Ever since ‘Brat’ summer began last year, it has been characterised by some consistent themes. Its celebration of messiness may have been the one that pulled the most focus, but besides that, it’s also been about friendship, community and Charli XCX lifting others up alongside herself. The first Partygirl events boasted special guests like her partner George Daniel and The Dare, the video for ‘360’ assembled an it girl squad featuring Gabbriette, Rachel Sennott, Julia Fox and more, and the eventual ‘Brat’ remix album brought together artists new and old to rework the cultural phenomenon. Even at Coachella, when the singer could have kept attention firmly on herself, she took the opportunity to move focus to a host of other acts who could have their own summer in the spotlight.
It feels fitting, then, that one of the final ‘Brat’ shows she has scheduled should take the form of a Partygirl takeover of London’s Lido festival, with Charli curating the day. The line-up pulls from her list of collaborators, friends and cult acts to serve up a cross-section of current electronic-leaning pop and some of its most interesting creators.
Magdalena Bay pull the first big crowd of the festival, packing out the second stage tent as they bring the surreal world of ‘Imaginal Disk’ to life. Frontwoman Mica Tenenbaum complements different songs with different masks and outfits – a sunflower encircling her face for ‘Vampire In The Corner’, angel wings for ‘The Ballad Of Matt & Mica’ – emphasising the unique, playful side of their inventive synth-pop and making their world feel whole.
Later, Gesaffelstein takes world-building in a completely different direction. The French DJ and producer walks on stage shrouded entirely in black and delivers his set of industrial techno from the middle of a ring of giant black crystals. As massive as the likes of ‘Pursuit’ and ‘Hellifornia’ sound, the set feels let down by the fact that the sun is still blazing, taking some of the drama out of his universe.
The extended ‘Brat’ family takes over Victoria Park today (June 14), too, with some of her close collaborators proving popular draws. The Dare’s set – benefitted by the absence of scheduling clashes – is so busy that the tent has to be closed off early in his performance. A.G. Cook warms up the main stage in the early afternoon with a setlist that, instead of showcasing his own 2024 album ‘Britpop’, largely packs in remixes of some of the songs he’s produced for Charli, and a blast of The Verve’s ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’. The crowd-pleasing continues at The Japanese House, Amber Bain’s dreamy indie-pop the perfect breather between more hype performances.
As much as today is a celebration of a whole corner of music, though, it’s also a victory lap for Charli and the runaway success of ‘Brat’. As she comes on stage under a barrage of green lights and the unfurling of the ‘Brat’ banner – now tattered and half-shredded – the album’s impact is evident in the excited screams that ring across Victoria Park. ‘365 (remix)’, ‘360’ and ‘Von Dutch’ provide the perfect triple threat to open the set, every word to all yelled back at the star by the sold-out crowd.
While there are rumours that some of her superstar collaborators are on site, from Lorde to Addison Rae, the sole guest appearance comes via Drain Gang’s Bladee, fresh from drenching the second stage in AutoTuned rap-pop, and A.G. Cook. Together, they deliver the remix of ‘Rewind’, but some technical mix-ups before they get into the song hamper the excitement around it somewhat.
The same can’t be said about the rest of Charli’s performance, which masterfully builds and builds. “Are you still fucking out there or what?” she asks before the bouncing ‘Speed Drive’, before taking the crowd higher and higher, via ‘Guess (remix)’, her current viral sleeper hit ‘Party 4 U’ and an electrifying version of ‘Vroom Vroom’. By the time ‘I Love It’, the song she wrote for Icona Pop, brings things to a close, euphoria has set in across the park, and Charli XCX is in her element. Long live ‘Brat’ summer.
After first rising to prominence with the expansive, 1980s-inspired dream-pop of ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ and its standout tracks, Ethel Cain has spent much of her artistic journey trying to step away from that sound. She’s leaned into a moodier mix of drone, ambient rock, and raw analogue textures. “I’m not a fucking pop artist,” the Tallahassee singer once told The FADER, adding, “I reject that wholeheartedly.” Her experimental projects ‘Perverts’ and ‘Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’ make that stance very clear, and her latest tour often feels like a firm break from the softer sounds that brought her into the spotlight.
For the first of her five headline nights at Hammersmith Apollo, Hayden Anhedönia builds a scene that feels like a slightly playful, gently eerie B-movie graveyard. She spends most of the performance tucked inside a moss-covered altar, surrounded by dramatic lighting and a crucifix mic stand. The show is nearly silent when it comes to onstage chatter. The rare moments she does address the audience are understated and easy to miss. When a fan shouts their love for her, she responds with a simple “Thank you!” from the darkness.
Instead of walking the stage to build energy, the lighting design carries that weight, mirroring the intensity of her songs. During the gritty, heavy ‘Dust Bowl’, she sings inside a slowly circling beam of light that sweeps across the Apollo with piercing brightness, while strobing green and white lights heighten the tension during long instrumental passages.
Ethel Cain. Credit: Connie Burke
As the warm, rough-edged guitars of ‘Knock At The Door’ fill the room, the production shows it can match the strange, atmospheric side of Cain’s catalogue, even if those moments are rare tonight. The set doesn’t lean heavily on ‘Perverts’, but brief pieces of ‘Houseofpsychoticwomn’ and the title track make their way in. The industrial ballad ‘Vacillator’ appears in full, bathed in stark white light as she softly sings, “If you love me, keep it to yourself,” on a track heavy with buried emotion.
For the most part, the night is devoted to ‘Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’. The album slows the cinematic Southern Gothic of her debut ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ and explores the dizzying pull of a teenage love triangle. The shimmering synths of ‘Fuck Me Eyes’ and the lush strings of ‘Nettles’ bring an early glow, before the performance drifts into hazy ambient dream-rock reminiscent of Grouper. The mood is thick and steady, though it lacks big shifts in dynamics, leaving the set on a single emotional wavelength.
When ‘Tempest’ is briefly stopped and restarted so medics can help an audience member, ‘Waco, Texas’ follows as the main set closer. The encore then pivots toward older material, shifting the tone entirely. After a heartfelt ‘A House in Nebraska’, Anhedönia steps out from behind her green altar for the first and last time, moving into the brighter side of her discography with ‘Crush’ and ‘American Teenager’. Even though she has expressed discomfort with her most well-known tracks, their contrast with her darker material gives the finale a powerful lift. After holding the room in quiet tension for so long, their arrival feels like a release that lands with even greater impact.
