Although I was in the first few years of my adolescence when Indie Sleaze was on the rise, I can still remember some distinct sounds of the music from that era. My little iPod nano was my saving grace during the bus rides home from school, it carried a whole world of artists with whom I spent myself creating fantasies of me being cool, older, and reminiscent of the people I would find myself reposting on my Tumblr. These people and this world were drenched in smeared mascara eye makeup, glitter, American Apparel and parties.
The thing, however, that really tied these components of the era together was the music. There were so many versions and approaches to pop, punk and electronic music with artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Crystal Castles and Justice being among the many to mention. There was a dirtiness, messiness, and grittiness that captured this sound. It was an overall attitude. To be an influence or a titan in this scene was to not care but have party energy and at 13 years old these were the people who I wanted to hang out with.
I grew older. The era had passed, and many new trends came and went throughout the years. My Tumblr had long been retired, American Apparel had shut down its business, and music had gone through its many evolutions as it always does.
It wasn’t until these past 2 years that I began noticing some very familiar sounds emerging from music and in the normal fashion of trends, it started to rub off on pop culture through the outlets of fashion and makeup. It was crazy to think about how the early post pandemic world brought us trends such as the clean girl aesthetic and music reflecting that cleanliness in the world of overly produced almost too perfect pop hits. The shift started to happen and interestingly enough it was an indie sleaze icon who was helping to lead this and scuff up the pop music scene and make it sleazy again. Charli XCX.
I had listened to her music since I was 14 and was always a fan. She captured this sort of MySpace era of aesthetics, performed her music in small, grimy venues and raves, had the cool, effortlessly messy hair, and party girl energy. She was a party girl and I wanted to party with her, so did her small following at the time. With her new album last year entitled BRAT, the shift started to become more clear to me. She wasn’t the only artist that delivering the sleaziness. Artist such as The Dare, Coco and Clair Clair and Snow Strippers have brought forth a modern iteration of this sound that has shifted the pop culture landscape.
So, where is Indie sleaze now, and how does it show up today? It is evident in the music in we listen to today, but how else? Well we can see it in our fashion trends as well. Throughout the original timeline of the era. There were different approaches to what Indie Sleaze fashion was but there was one thing for sure that it had to have which is that effortlessness and grime. There is a DIY element where there is a a lot of intention but also careless.
It’s always fun when old trends reemerge and have a chance at a second life. Although it could be replicated through music and fashion, there will always be something fresh about it. It is a direct reflection on the current time we all live in. Trends mirror what is happening all around us. Indie Sleaze has come to party once more and for those of us like me who were too young to attend, the time is finally here.
I wanted to share a little playlist of songs I used to listen to during the first wave of Indie Sleaze along with some of the newer stuff that’s coming out right now!
VC Social 