The Weekly Coos

When Lambrini Girls appeared in my algorithm due to their profile on NME.com, I became intrigued, specifically by the aesthetic of sheer punk they imbued. Popping in some singles and eventually their debut album, Who Let the Dogs Out, showed listeners that they were here to cook exponentially. Their debut is an album riddled with insurmountable anarchy and chaos, from the vocals to the production. There’s cohesion in their direction and how they want to present themselves amidst the musical climate, especially when steering with politics can be somewhat of a detractor—that is what punk rock is—it’s fighting the system that establishes norms, and their abrasive nature offers some depth to what can occasionally be heard as predominantly surface-layer instrumentation. Now, you can ask how the punk sound can ever shift from the essence of its core, since some may be itching for more of a hybrid aesthetic like what Geese did with their last album. Yet, what Lambrini Girls emanate adds more authenticity to the genre, where the vocals become more pronounced, allowing the lyrics to become the focal point of what makes this debut a riot filled with humor, despite yearning for more.

Who Let the Dogs Out’s abrasiveness isn’t subtle, even with the contrasting ideas on the album cover. It has the captivating allure that’s charming in good pop music, but with a rough outer shell that gives it the bravado to stand by what it sings. It doesn’t wait to settle you in either, as it opens the album with the dynamic and in-your-face “Bad Apple,” which speaks to how the policing system isn’t as black and white with good and bad officers; it attacks the lack of proper background checks and recycling, similar to how the Catholic Church complex shifted its bad apples. What follows are more societal and politically charged ideas about how groups function and how society views nepo babies or sexuality as a whole. These intriguing ideas connect the musical tissues fluidly, allowing you, the listener, to leave it on replay seamlessly. It benefits them that they have a quirky humor to them that helps build songs like “Big Dick Energy” or “Cuntology 101” and gives them a platform that elevates the mold to newer heights.

The production of Who Let the Dogs Out isn’t the standout one expects, though it has a clear shock and in-your-face attitude that emboldens their stances further. Punk is political whether you accept it or not, and though the band can tread into other themes revolving around it, like conformity or mental health in the fantastic “Nothing Tastes As Good As It Feels,” it all has some form of relativity to a larger complex of ideas that surround it. If that isn’t evident there, they make it very apparent with a break in the middle where they deliver their communist agenda or rather an attack on capitalism and how it manipulates the working class. It’s an album that has an idea and rolls with it. The solid production helps, and much of the music hits because the production matches their energy with consistency. Unfortunately, it isn’t something we haven’t heard before. The aesthetic is simple and focuses on the musical dynamism that one can create with the guitars, like the power riffs that dominate “Something Different,” or the more connected “No Homo,” where the synchronicity among the instruments elevates it further.

As a fan of their debut, it isn’t perfect and doesn’t benefit from having a swift pace and a slight homogenization amongst the production choices keeps it on a level playing field that shows promise. It does so with the catchability you’d find more resonant with pop, and co-producer Daniel Fox helps in that regard, especially with his history of producing for Ryan Beatty; he brings a slight je ne sais quoi to the music’s catchiness as they focus heavily on the punk aesthetic as a whole. You hear it with the fantastic tracks “No Homo” and “Special Different.” It’s like having the add-on that makes the journey easier sonically. It’s a triumph for debut albums, and the Lambrini Girls duo aren’t wasting their moment. That’s why it feels so refreshing; they are basking in opportunity and squandering is not in their vocabulary. It makes up for some of the milquetoast production heard with a few tracks, especially as it comes through swiftly but modest pace from beginning to end.

This is an album I’d heartedly recommend if not for listening to something new, but because of the pure punk attitude and bravado they embrace. They are fighting the system by delivering ideas that radiate greatly over raucous instrumentals. Lambrini Girls have something cooking in the pot, and I’m ready for more entrees. Whatever you hear here, you will leave knowing the ladder only goes up as the ceiling increases, adding more room for possible greatness and consistency to shine. Give Who Let The Dogs Out a listen, especially when its ideas continuously become more potent for us in America seeing a new reckoning.