Lambrini Girls : Who Let the Dogs Out

Punk rock history is rife with lyrics that lionize being vacant and apathetic—it’s just another way to relate to kids and sound cool. The Sex Pistols made it easy enough to advocate for sailing through life in a coma-like state or flipping off the queen. Those are still relatable subjects and valid punk rock fodder. Still, while the chords haven’t changed, punk has matured. Bands are smarter, more diverse and more open to the concept that writing lyrics with a positive message can still be considered a form of rebellion.
“Learning to love yourself is cunty,” Phoebe Lunny states on “Cuntology 101,” the last song on Lambrini Girls’ full-length debut album, Who Let the Dogs Out. The anthemic song contains no less than 40 instances of the profane word that begins its title, which they either spell out like a high school cheer or just simply yell out. Other examples of being cunty in a good way, they say, include putting your own needs first, learning how to say no, respecting others, and setting boundaries. These are all traditionally non-punk attitudes that bands wouldn’t have been caught dead putting on an album as recently as 20 years ago.
Attempting to flip the playbook on a historically toxic label aimed at women is just one way that Lambrini Girls is standing out from the punk bands that came before them. Perhaps the band hopes that by supplying such language in bulk, it will kickstart its future transformation into a positive affirmation rather than its swampy existence as a nasty slur. Either way, “Cuntology 101” is damn fun to sing aloud for pure shock value.
Though this is their first full-length album, the band’s history is already pockmarked by arrivals and departures. Previous members vocalist Flora Kimberly, bassist Fox Foxington Fox, and drummer Catt Jack have since left the group, leaving Phoebe Lunny on guitar and lead vocals and Lilly Macieira-Boşgelmez on bass and backing vocals. Lambrini Girls’ previous EP, You’re Welcome, has garnered them praise for “Boys In the Band,” “Terf Wars,” and “Help Me I’m Gay,” a song that addresses how queer women are trivialized. Lunny’s voice is loaded with sarcasm as she bitingly confronts mom: “Hey mum, why haven’t I had a boyfriend? Maybe it’s because I’m potentially a lesbian?”
The group draws on influences like Hole, No Doubt, The Runaways and Stevie Nicks, as well as Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, both the brainchild of riot grrrl pioneer Kathleen Hanna. On their full-length debut, Lunny delivers whip-smart lines in rapid succession across a spectrum of issues, proving that the same stuff that pissed women off in 1978 are still very much in effect. The album expresses their thoughts on creeping gentrification, rampant nepotism, toxic masculinity, police brutality, the criminal justice system, neurodiversity and slut-shaming, to name a few.
Lunny’s style mixes spoken-word vocal shredding with humorous anecdotes about dirtbags to split open a cross-cut of a world where name-calling, arrogant men, crooked police, misogynists, the privileged, and toxic workplaces run rampant. From the first seismic rumbles Who Let the Dogs Out, it’s quite clear this band is filled with rage, and no one can tell them otherwise. On “Bad Apple,” rumbling bass and screaming guitar send out an alarm call, matched by Lunny’s rapid-fire, insightful lyrics yelled at maximum velocity. “Bad Apple” poses serious questions regarding stop-and-frisk and police brutality, unnecessary force and systemic corruption within the police system (“Batteries die before it happens,”) Lunny reminds us.
More gritty riffs and lightning quick lyrics from Lunny, reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, pile up as the album barrels through with not a ballad in sight. The rotting idea of corporate culture clocks in with a deafening dose of sarcasm on “Company Culture.” “Filthy Rich, Nepo Baby” seethes with energy and a relentless, hyper beat as the band targets those who have it easy thanks to wealthy blood relatives.
Both members of Lambrini Girls are neurodivergent, and not picking up on the subtleties of human connection and communication is one part of being neurodiverse. On “Special Different,” Lunny sings about the perils of being “different” in a world full of people who are not. “Spare me your sarcasm, ‘cause I don’t understand it,” she says. Lambrini Girls are also up front about their previous issues with eating disorders. It’s still a skinny world, whether we like it or not. “Nothing Tastes As Good As It Feels” is modeled after Kate Moss’ past controversial statement about starving yourself to stay thin. Lambrini Girls turns the teachable moment into a more existential, physical and emotional issue.
The one song that moves at a slightly slower pace is “Love.” Its quietly building bridge adds more tension around the normally placid concept, which Lunny claims is “nothing more than a hill to die on.” The buzzy, danceable and hilarious “Big Dick Energy” cuts down the opposite sex with a hatchet, reducing men who wield their sexual prowess as “nothing but performative.” “Stop telling me how much you lift,” Lunny demands. Though all women know instinctively “to clutch their keys as soon as it hits 10:30,” while men don’t, it’s nice to hear it belted across the airwaves. For Lambrini Girls, and far too many others, the world is against them, and there’s nothing left to do but scream about it.
Label: City Slang
Year: 2025
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