Future historians will look back on this as the summer of rail strikes, Elf Bars, climate breakdown, spiralling living costs, and “B.O.T.A (Baddest of Them All)”, a dance track by Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal. If you still haven’t heard it, I have some upsetting news about your grasp on the cultural zeitgeist. But you probably have done, at some point: on the radio, at a festival, blaring out of a passing car on a sultry evening, the soundtrack to any number of TikToks where people lip-sync the lyrics while clearly feeling themselves (and good for them!) Now hovering at number two in the charts, “B.O.T.A” marks the long-awaited end of the “song of the summer” recession we’ve been suffering for years.
“B.O.T.A” first gained traction in London’s club scene, but it wasn’t until Glastonbury that it really took off. Soon, it was everywhere, achieving a level of ubiquity which Rose hadn’t …