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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Jamie Peck

The 2010s are glorified by gen Z. But the ‘indie music’ of that era was unoriginal

A crowd of people watching a band play on stage at a nightclub.
‘On the artistic front, “indie sleaze” was unoriginal.’ Photograph: Yuri Arcurs/Alamy

You’ve probably noticed it by now: the smeared makeup in fashion editorials, the “messy girl” style of gen Z celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo, and the dance-y, LCD Soundsystem-esque sound of artists like the Dare and … well, LCD Soundsystem, whose reunited lineup seems to be playing shows every night now.

The no-longer-so-niche pop star Charli xcx further foregrounded it with her breakout hit Brat this past summer, an album whose inescapable promotional cycle improbably combined an embrace by the Harris/Walz presidential campaign – cue Jake Tapper trying to explain “brat summer” to your parents – and a birthday party photographed by none other than aughts-era shutter bug the Cobrasnake in his trademark high-flash, low-res style.

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