CD of The Week

America’s favorite teen punk family (and their slightly older friend) are back with their third album in six years, proving that their 15 minutes of pandemic fame were not just a flash in the pan. The Linda Lindas ain’t no cutsey novelty act; their talent and expanded musical experimentation are growing as fast as their young minds can adapt, pivot, and move forward.

If you are new to The Linda Lindas’ story, here’s a quick catch up: after being discovered by Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna for covering “Rebel Girl,” they broke the viral video algorithm with their song “Racist, Sexist Boy” in May 2021. With the pandemic at its height, they made the future of music feel secure and on the right path. Their first album, Growing Up in 2022, was inevitable, and it ended up being critically praised. Everyone wanted to support the band, as they were opening for some of the biggest bands (Blondie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Paramore, The Breeders, Green Day, The Rolling Stones) in the biggest stadiums by the time their second album, 2024’s No Obligation, came out. That album’s title was a declaration that they were not just stumbling down the road to fame they found themselves on; they truly loved to write songs. Which brings us to the new album Gotta Get Out.

Here, they embarked on a new songwriting method. Previously, they wrote and collaborated whenever they could find free time between classes and homework. But for Gotta Get Out, they holed up for sessions in Palm Springs and Long Beach, working together in real time, feeding off each other’s ideas while simultaneously giving everyone time to shine. And as a result, the album has a huge variety of styles, mimicking the spin of an FM radio dial to find a variety of genres and station formats. The title track kicks off the record, channeling the synth and drive of Metric, while the single “Burning Out” takes us back to the head-nodding pop punk that the band is typically associated with. The Spanish language “Helado De Limon” is a driving, hard rocker, which transitions well into the politically driven, guttural metal stomp “Blood on Our Hands,” brimming with atomic frustration. Where many bands will dance around the issues they address, The Linda Lindas face topics head-on with direct language. A line like “Nothing big or beautiful about a fascist state” chooses not to sugarcoat anything.

A handful of the songs follow that same political viewpoint, criticizing the administration and general corporate evildoers. “Nothing Left” feels like a Bangles song that slaps the face of climate deniers with the line “How much will your money mean / When you got no air to breathe.” The dark wave of “High Horse” sings of general baddies that spew empty threats that boil and build until the rest of us have had enough, which is emotionally exerted in the circle pit of “Break.” But they are (mostly) still teenagers, and they have an uncanny ability to breathe new life into age-old relationship conundrums. The single “Closer” featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore and the moody mid-tempo “I Could be Wrong” both wear a paranoid, chugging emo heart on their sleeves. The moody slow single “Everybody Told Me,” together with the fun power pop-punk of “Okay,” reflect on how personal feelings don’t always reflect what others suggest and assert. And they pull no punches, exploiting the reverse-acronym title of the dream-poppy closing track, “See You Next Time.”

The hardworking band is embarking on a tour around the country, including the huge, sold-out Power to the People festival in Maryland on Saturday, October 3rd, organized by Tom Morello. The Linda Lindas then play The TLA here in Philadelphia the following night (Sunday, October 4th).

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