If I would have found The Linda Lindas when I was fourteen or fifteen, they very well may have been my favorite band. Teenage angst is front and center here on almost all the tracks, which my younger self would have loved. Nowadays I can still enjoy this for what it is, but I don’t take away the same visceral emotion that I would have as a teen. Now I feel a sort of melancholia about getting older. Or have I sold out???
For being so young, both in their career and physically (the oldest member is only 20) this is an impressive record. Yes, it falls on familiar tropes, but that’s ok. The Linda Lindas have played NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, toured the world and have now made two full length albums. I wish I could have said I’d done that by the time I was 20!
The album borrows from some of the best to come before them (Green Day - who they were just on tour with - Bikini Kill, L7, Paramore and The Sex Pistols, to name a few). The band keeps the music fast and in your face, and doesn’t shy away from difficult subject matter.
Album standout “Too Many Things” (track four) hints at being overwhelmed by your own thoughts and living inside your own head. Speaking of which… “All in my Head” (track two) hints at similar themes: “nobody knows the pain I’ve been going through / doctors know I have money to spend / and no it’s not you it’s me I’ve been talking to.” Mental Illness takes the forefront on these two tracks, and reminded me of the difficulties of being a teen (not to mention how hard it must be dealing with fame at such a young age).
Questions of femininity are brought up here as well: “You’d like me better if I grew out my hair / You’d like me better if I wore a dress.”
These lines are from the title track “No Obligation,” and are yelled very angrily. They’re the equivalent of a middle finger to whoever would like them better if they grew out their hair or wore that dress. This track is also likely the bridge between their first album/younger selves (think their 2021 viral hit “Racist, Sexist Boy”) and the rest of the album, as the sound after this changes and is much more like the established 2000s punk canon – stronger on vocal harmonizing, less in-your-face screaming.
Power chords are a weapon of choice for The Linda Linda’s throughout the album. But that’s understandable – it’s a winning formula in punk rock. The music is fun, it’s not revolutionary, but it’s a good fist pumping time. The vocals bounce between classic punk chants of “Hey! Hey! Hey!” to more riot grrrl leanings, like you’ll hear on “Excuse Me” (track 11) and the title track.
Another highlight is “Resolution/Revolution" (track nine). This song is so catchy I found myself replaying it in my head for days. This one really kills it, even with the “we stand tall / right the wrongs / sing a long” chorus, which honestly isn’t the most well-crafted of lyrics. But the song gets the point across. And when you’re in a mosh pit and you’re fifteen years old – it’s the jam that matters.
Must Listen – “No Obligation” – “All In My Head” – “Resolution/Revolution”
