After seeing The Linda Lindas so soon before they released No Obligation and I had the honor of hearing some of the new tracks live, you know I jumped on this the day it came out!
What’s still so hard for me to wrap my head around is just how talented these girls are for being so young! Sure, you don’t catch too many amazing girl bands as it is, but the oldest member in this band is eighteen! Heck, one of their mothers took photos of them with fans at the show. That’s incredible! And as far as I can tell, The Linda Lindas have earned nothing but hard, cold respect from elite rock acts like Foo Fighters and Green Day. Massive bands like them are giving these guys a chance to prove themselves and I think they’re doing it.
Again, to echo off of the youth comment is how mature a lot of these songs are. Not just sonically, but lyrically. I can guarantee you any poetry I wrote as a teenage is laughable compared to what they are coming up with. I mean, single “All in my Head” talks about mental illness and adding that “the doctors know that I have money to spend” is some serious awareness for barely high schoolers. “Too Many Things,” while on the surface may seem to just be talking about teenagers thinking they are busy and stressed, but I think anyone of any age can relate to that song.
Overall, this album was just a whole heck of a lot darker lyrically than the first album, but it makes sense to me at this time in their life. I think they are also realizing that society is trying so hard to make you fit a mold that almost no one can fit into. Nothing captures this better than opening and title track, “No Obligation.” Yo. This song goes SO HARD! If I had to recommend any on the album, this would be the one. Similar messaging can be found on “Excuse Me” and in a more generic sense on “Lose Yourself.” Almost tying the opening track with its sheer badass-ness is “Resolution/Revolution.” That song slaps.
Sure, there were a few misses on this album for me, but what a strong sophomore effort! You don’t see many bands out there over the course of time stick the landing the second time. This just has me confident that they are going to be able to do it again and again in their hopefully long career. Please check The Linda Lindas out if you haven’t yet. I promise they are worth it. And if my endorsement doesn’t seal the deal, maybe a song featuring Weird Al Yankovic will? I guess you’ll just have to listen to find out.