At its core, Charli O - Goth Girl Summer is a masterclass in juxtaposition. The song opens with a distorted 808 kick drum that mimics the sound of a heartbeat slowing down in a sauna. Then, Charli’s voice cuts through the static:
"UV rays are killing me / But I look good in misery / SPF 666 / Kiss my neck with black lipstick."
The chorus is an immediate earworm, designed for transition edits:
"It’s a Goth Girl Summer / I’m hot but I’m bummer / Drinking iced coffee black / Never text you back / Yeah, it’s a Goth Girl Summer / Watch my mascara run / In the 3 PM sun / It’s a Goth Girl Summer / Ain’t it fun?"
Musically, the track borrows heavily from the Lisa Frank goth genre (think Crystal Castles meets early Lady Gaga). The bridge drops the tempo entirely, incorporating a slowed-down sample of a church organ before exploding into a drum-and-bass breakdown. It is a song that sounds like air conditioning breaking down during a heatwave—chaotic, sticky, and strangely euphoric. charli o - goth girl summer
The term "Goth Girl Summer" could easily have been a throwaway trend on TikTok—a hashtag attached to a fifteen-second clip of someone in heavy eyeliner. But Charli O elevates the concept. She taps into the "Trad Goth" revival with a modern pop sensibility, bridging the gap between the listeners who grew up on The Cure and Siouxie and the Gen Z audience discovering the sound through artists like Grimes and Lil Tracy.
The song succeeds because it doesn't mock the goth subculture; it celebrates the resilience of it. It acknowledges the irony of wearing combat boots in July while simultaneously making it sound like the most glamorous thing a person could do. It is a celebration of being the "weirdo" at the pool party, turning the outsider status into a superpower.
Producer: Likely Charli O herself (known for bedroom production) with possible uncredited help from underground cybergoth producers.
Key elements:
Reference points:
Alice Gas, Nostraightanswer, Sidewalks and Skeletons, early Purity Ring (if they were sadder and had less budget).
The music video, which has amassed over 40 million views, is essential to the song's success. Directed by underground filmmaker Vesper Grey, the video features Charli O at a "normal" pool party. While everyone else wears pastel bikinis and drinks rosé, Charli sits fully clothed in a velvet corset on a plastic flamingo floatie.
The defining shot of the video—and the one that spawned a thousand TikToks—is Charli holding a black umbrella while eating a melting ice cream cone, the sticky syrup dripping onto her lace gloves. The caption overlay reads: "Sorry, I can't hear you over my existential dread."
This visual language coined the term "Goth Girl Summer." It represents the refusal to change one's internal darkness to suit the external weather. It is the validation that you do not need to be a "beach bunny" to enjoy the longest days of the year. At its core, Charli O - Goth Girl
Before we dissect the track, we have to look at the creator. Charli O (Charlotte O’Connor) has been bubbling in the underground hyperpop and darkwave scenes for the last three years. Known for her ethereal, breathy vocals that sit somewhere between a whisper and a warning, Charli O built her reputation on songs that feel like diary entries written in a crypt.
Unlike many artists who "go dark" for the aesthetic, Charli O embodies the ethos. She came up producing lo-fi tracks in her Boston apartment during the dead of winter. Her previous EP, February Forever, was a critical darling for its exploration of seasonal affective disorder. So, when fans heard she was releasing a song called "Goth Girl Summer," many were confused. Was she selling out? Was this a joke?
It was not a joke. It was a reclamation.
Charli O realized that for millions of introverts, goths, and "darkly inclined" people, summer is actually the hardest season. The pressure to be happy, the sensory overload of bright light, and the social obligation to "go outside" can be exhausting. "Goth Girl Summer" is her offering to those people—a permission slip to stay inside, turn on the AC, and look hot while doing it. The music video, which has amassed over 40