This was originally just going to be a review of the new album, Growing Up, by The Linda Lindas, but then the Youtube algorithm shoved Wet Leg’s self-titled debut in my face, so now you get two for the price of one. It’s also helpful because it’s hard to elaborate on the phrase, “the whole album is amazing,” because they both were. But I’ll try.
First up, and highly anticipated, was The Linda Lindas. As previously expressed, I loved all of their singles, “Oh!,” “Racist Sexist Boy,” “Growing Up,” and “Talking to Myself.” The latter of the four is probably my favorite off the record, although they are all so different that I can love them equally I suppose. Another strong contender is the song “Nino,” which is literally a song about one of the band members’ cat. The lyrics were hilarious, but that cat also sounds like a badass, and as a cat lover, I obviously really dug this song. Really, I didn’t dislike a single track of this debut, and I’m even including the fully Spanish one! I don’t speak hardly any Spanish, but I could still fully appreciate the beautiful vocals.
Speaking of vocals, that duty gets split four ways and the album is better for it. They all bring a different quality with their voices and yet they somehow mix so well together. For instance, Lucia and Bella’s are more melodic, where Eloise has more of a gravely snarl. She’s what I think of when I think of punk music, but they’ve blended pop elements seamlessly, as well. The songs are either ridiculously catchy or make you want to headbang hard. Especially on the likes of the song that led them to stardom, “Racist Sexist Boy.” It’s as punk as they come. And really so are the rest of the tracks off this short, punchy wonder. Listen to it!
Next up is Wet Leg’s self-titled debut album! For a little while now, Youtube has been insisting that Wet Leg is a band I should be listening to, and then they started making late show appearances, so I relented. Boy was it worth it! The band officially consists of Rhian and Hester, but they play with (and include in most of their videos) three other musicians to round out their sound. They are creative and rock pretty hard, and if they don’t end up supporting Arctic Monkeys on (hopefully) a headlining tour at some point this year I’d be shocked. At a first listen, the vocal style reminded me of Wheatus a bit, but in more of a groovy rock way.
There were plenty of singles to come off this debut effort, with fun and strange videos to accompany almost all of them, and really all of them were pretty awesome. Of course, like most, I enjoyed their lead single, “Chaise Longue” which had a sick melodic riff. “Angelica” reminded me of all the things I listened to in high school, so that means I really liked it. But I also appreciated the journey that that specific song takes. “Wet Dream” is probably my top song from them, as it’s catchy in every conceivable way. Most of the songs off this record had fairly silly lyrics, but in the best way possible. Perhaps in a less silly-meaning way, closing track, “Too Late Now,” spoke the truth when Rhian sang, “I don’t need a dating app to tell me if I look like crap…” and so on and so forth. Above all else, I’m also a big fan of their logo! It reminds me of my favorite band’s own logo (Does It Offend You, Yeah?).
All in all, both of these albums were a complete joy to listen to and it’s cool to see them both slowly start to make their way through the masses. It’s great to bring attention back to punk and rock, and with female led projects, it’s even better! Personally, I’d love to see both of these bands make their way to SNL…they just need to start asking cool bands to be on again. Regardless of all of that, go pick up both of these albums immediately!