Lo-fi and the way it functions as cultural signaling is something worth being honest about.

When an artist releases a lo-fi record, they're communicating something to a community that understands the code. Lo-fi signals independence, authenticity, a relationship to a specific tradition of underground music, a refusal of mainstream production values. These signals are real and they create context that shapes how the music is received.

But signals can be gamed. An artist who wants the credibility that comes with lo-fi aesthetics without the underlying commitment to the values those aesthetics signal can deploy the aesthetic without the substance. The production sounds right; the community context is absent.

I don't think there's a clean solution to this problem — aesthetics are always available to be detached from their original contexts. But I think being conscious of it produces better listening and better critical evaluation. When you hear a lo-fi record, it's worth asking whether the lo-fi is a statement or a costume.