Despite most of their members still being in high school, The Linda Lindas have already amassed a fan base, and record deals —but they’re only just getting started.
Plenty of kids look up to their favorite musicians as aspirational icons of creative freedom and coolness, but the rock band The Linda Lindas (whose members’ ages range from 14 to 20) have their idols looking up to them. Since forming in 2018 as part of a performance with Kristin Kontrol of the Dum Dum Girls, The Linda Lindas have brought their spirited punk to the stage, opening for iconic groups like Bikini Kill, Paramore, and even The Rolling Stones. With the recent release of No Obligation, a sophomore LP that expands on their sound while remaining true to their core artistic principles, the band is now experiencing what it means to inspire fans of their own.
No Obligation, the follow-up to their 2022 debut, Growing Up, finds The Linda Lindas at a matured level of songwriting and technical proficiency, with more dynamic and surprising twists throughout each song. “We had more information,” the band’s guitarist/vocalist Bela Salazar says. “We’ve learned a lot more about playing our instruments, so we could actually make decisions about what we were playing. Before, everything seemed like it was more straightforward, and now there’s more parts and different things that we tried out.”
“We’ve learned a lot more about playing our instruments, so we could actually make decisions about what we were playing.”
Bela Salazar
The melodies are sweeter, the riffs dirtier, and the lyrics more profound. One of the most exciting developments in The Linda Lindas’ writing is the spread of plentiful harmonies across the record, with each member combining her voice with the others’ to powerful, often beautiful, effect. “Playing together live more showed us that it’s really cool when we all sing together, because we never really thought of that before in the first album,” the bassist/vocalist Eloise Wong says. “But once we started playing those songs more and singing back-up vocals live, we were like, whoa, this is really fun and cool.”
The guitarist/vocalist Lucia de la Garza, referred to by her bandmates as “the boss of the harmonies,” has a natural aptitude for coming up with unique vocal arrangements. “During practice I do too many sometimes,” she says, “and so I honestly have to scale them back for the recording sessions. I think harmonies are fun and they show the range we have in terms of vocals.” The most exciting development on No Obligation is how all four musicians’ talents combine and synthesize into something even greater. “There’s such a variety of things that we talk about on this album, and a variety of sounds and ideas on it, that I hope at least something will resonate with everyone that listens to it,” de la Garza continues. “Because there’s a lot that’s really meaningful to us on the album, and I hope that people feel like they would want to listen again.”
“There’s such a variety of things that we talk about on this album, and a variety of sounds and ideas on it, that I hope at least something will resonate with everyone that listens to it.”
Lucia de la Garza
Of their ever-growing fan base, Wong shares a story of being spotted by a group of young admirers while leaving rehearsal recently: “There was a group of five little kids, and I heard them whisper, ‘It’s the Linda Lindas!’ As they were walking to their cars, we could see them turn back and look at us.” The drummer/vocalist Mila de la Garza (Lucia’s younger sister) adds: “A lot of people tell me that they started playing drums because of me. That’s really cool. It’s a little bit surprising to me.”
At an age when most musicians are still figuring out their sound, The Linda Lindas are already established enough to act as an influence on others. The way they navigate teamwork and interpersonal dynamics also speaks to a maturity beyond their years. All of them bring different ideas to the table, operating with democratic and respectful cohesion. Each member is given equal space to propose or veto any idea as they see fit. While many great bands succumb to feuds and dueling egos, The Linda Lindas avoid conflict through an open stream of communication. “We haven’t gotten into a fight or anything like that,” Salazar says. “We’re pretty good about talking to each other about things before it gets into a big argument. Usually, if somebody says no, we just move on. There’s a level of understanding, a level of respect.” Wong cheers: “Hey, it’s worked for six years!”
“I’m not sure about what it means to our generation, but to me punk means creating what you feel matters. Maybe not everyone is doing what you do or talking about what you want to talk about, but you can do it yourself, and you can do it with people you love.”
Eloise Wong
One reason punk has maintained such vitality as a genre is because it’s about a spirit of rebellion, which is bound to appeal to youth in any era. Punk renews itself with every generation, who go on to add to the genre’s history with contemporary perspectives, responding to the unique circumstances of their place and time. “I’m not sure about what it means to our generation,” Wong says, “but to me punk means creating what you feel matters. Maybe not everyone is doing what you do or talking about what you want to talk about, but you can do it yourself, and you can do it with people you love.”
The Linda Lindas’ first viral hit, 2021’s “Racist, Sexist Boy,” addressed racism that Mila had experienced from one of her classmates. On one of their new tracks, “Resolution/Revolution,” they all sing: “We’re so small/ But we stand tall/ Right the wrongs/ And sing along.” And while No Obligation continues with the spirit of standing up for oneself and the principles you adhere to, there are also a greater number of lyrics employing poetic obliqueness to express complicated emotions, in what the older de la Garza describes as “talking about my feelings without talking about my feelings.” One example is the line “I’m good at being angry” in the track “Once Upon a Time.” De la Garza continues: “I don’t really get angry. It was this funny line for me, because the reason I’m good at being angry is because I’m good at being not angry, so when I am angry, it’s very surprising to me most of all. That was an interesting one, because I was kind of avoiding talking about anything super-specific at the time.”
Another lyric de la Garza cites as a favorite from No Obligation is: “They told us don’t be basic/ They meant be relatable instead,” from the single “Don’t Think.” “I think there’s an interesting idea how the way that you portray yourself to other people for popularity or whatever is really dependent on either being like everybody else or being above everybody else,” she says. “It’s just like, what if you don’t wanna do either of those things?” Too often, people struggle to conceptualize differences without imagining an accompanying hierarchy. The Linda Lindas, both in their creative output and their collaboration behind the scenes, provide a stellar model of how to function as a group that celebrates each individual’s own personality in an equal and mutually supportive fashion.
“I’m not sure what matters most to me in the world, but I do know that making music in this band does mean a lot to me, and I think that this friendship that we have means a lot to me.’
Eloise Wong
Outside music, Salazar designs clothes (which can often be seen on her bandmates), while Wong is the visual artist behind No Obligation’s cover. It’s rare that audiences get to witness the development of talented artists at such a vital stage in their growth, and as they hone their talents even further it remains to be seen what future masterpieces The Linda Lindas have in store. For now, though, they are content. Even if they were playing to empty basements instead of sold-out stadiums, one senses that The Linda Lindas would be just as enthusiastic and passionate about their art and connection. “I’m not sure what matters most to me in the world,” Wong says, “but I do know that making music in this band does mean a lot to me, and I think that this friendship that we have means a lot to me. I’m really happy that we can have this platform to share our music to the world.”
Homepage banner image:The Linda Lindas’ from their music video “All in My Head.” Article image: From left: The Linda Lindas’ Lucia de la Garza, Mila de la Garza, Eloise Wong, and Bela Salazar. Photo by Jessie Cowan. All images courtesy of Grandstand Media. This interview is taken from the current issue of Mission, The New Order. Guest edited by Nile Rodgers and Nancy Hunt, co-founders of We Are Family.
