What the hell is recession pop?

By Ethan Goddard

As the beloved and uber-reliable source Wikipedia claims, “Recession pop is an informally defined style of music predominantly associated with dance-pop and electropop, that emerged during the Great Recession” (circa 2008). In short, recession pop is music that’s made to uplift spirits and create fun environments in an otherwise shitty time in the world. Some of the most well known examples of first gen “recession pop” includes artists like LMFAO, Katy Perry, Pitbull, and Ke$ha (and yes, I mean specifically dollar sign era Kesha). Something all of these artists hold in common are their “party until the sun’s up” energy, “we’ll be young forever” lyrics, and marketing that reeks of cheap liquor and gets glitter all over your clothes. 

So why is “recession pop” rising in popularity now more than ever? When this style of pop was flooding the radios initially, a majority of Gen Z was actually around for it. The artists listed above are the same ones that we grew up with and have fond memories of. Now that our generation are all becoming adults and facing adult situations, there’s a generational struggle we can’t seem to find hope in. Whether it be because of the ridiculously high cost of living, the immediate access to any information (good or bad) at our fingertips, or maybe because it feels like the world we were placed into feels like hell on earth. So while the birth of recession pop was made to create hope, it’s actually hard to tell if Gen Z is embracing its second wave for the same reasons, or because it feels like a warm blanket of safety, A.K.A. nostalgia. 

So who are these defacto leaders reviving “recession pop”? The first artist may actually be a little bit closer to your nose than you’d think, and that’s none other than Charli XCX. After nearly a decade releasing albums, the pop veteran was recently given her (well deserved) flowers after releasing her sixth studio album “Brat.” The album follows two general themes throughout that sum up why recession pop has made a comeback: ear worm, dancy instrumentals paired with grim, brutally honest lyrics. Charli does a great job at finding the danceability in her sorrows, with topics of jealousy, hopelessness, and even death throughout. But none of these themes would even be noticeable if you didn’t dive into the lyrics, as each song is paired with hard hitting bass, synthy grooves, and punchy melodies. 

So if Charli represents the mainstream embrace of recession pop 2.0, artists like Frost Children, Underscores, and Jane Remover embody its underground evolution. Each creating their own respective homages to the genre. On Frost Children’s new album “Sister,” the duo creates environments that vocally feel reminiscent of MySpace-era artists like Breathe Carolina and The Medic Droid, while musically combining it with instrumentals reminiscent of Zedd and “Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites”-era Skrillex. So while lyrically it may not cover the same bases as Charli’s music does, the artists above all recreate that same escapism through sonic atmosphere to soundtrack the dystopian world we live in today. 

So what’s recession pop’s exact purpose now? Why’s it coming back now? Maybe it’s because Gen Z relies on their daily hit of nostalgia to keep them pushing through tough times. Maybe artists are trying to repeat something that at one point felt effective for a similarly troubled generation. Or maybe it’s all one big cash grab, like so much of mainstream art is. Or both? 

In times like these, I like to hope this is a glass half full situation. And with the way the world is, sometimes finding positivity in the heaps of bad shit happening is what you need to keep fighting. And if that can be found through a little Pitbull playing in your headphones, so be it.