Some viral stars burn out just as quickly as they arrive. The Linda Lindas’ debut album is their chance to prove that this won’t be their fate, after a video of them playing their proud, punky anthem for tolerance Racist, Sexist Boy in L.A’s Public Library lit TikTok on fire last year.
There’s nothing for them to worry about, though. Judging by the quality of these new songs, The Linda Lindas is certainly not a name that’s going to fade back into obscurity.
Even for a charming, wide-eyed coming-of-age record, ‘Growing Up’ displays a disarming sense of maturity in its songwriting that has developed as the L.A. quartet have begun to grow into themselves.
The breezy pop punk of Talking To Myself is sweetened by a precocious sense of introspection that belies youngest member Mila de la Garza’s 11 years, while they wear their angry side with sharp-tongued eloquence and riffs mean enough to snap detractors’ jaws shut on the blazing Fine.
There’s real emotional intelligence here, as the angsty Why wrestles with the blurring of anger and misery with similarly spiky riffs, and the glorious catchiness of Oh! deplores the struggle to say and do the right thing in the heat of the moment.
Every nuance and every feeling that comes with growing up is captured and documented like a diary, and the happier parts aren’t forgotten about either. The playful pop-rock of the title track is a sweet ode to squeezing as much joy as possible out of being young, and this band’s celebration of their own youth lends a veracity to their sound just as it does a whole load of charm.
This is not a record that should be written off as a My First Punk Album—it’s the sound of the first steps of hopeful future punk stars.
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