Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Hi, everyone. Let'sthony Gotano here, the internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this Lambrini Girls album, Who Let the Dogs Out?

Great question from the UK punk rock outfit, Lambrini Girls. After years and years of singles in the lead up to this moment, we finally have their debut full-length album. This was essentially my introduction to the band, and this is a very uncompromising, and also what you see is what you get release.

We have 10 tracks and an interlude, which total up to about 29 minutes of music. Banger riffs, heavy drums, shouty in your face vocals with a bold accent, big bass too. In fact, this record very much fits in line with a lot of other brash punk rock acts to be making waves out of the UK at the moment. It's almost like there's a revitalization of sorts going on between Petrol Girls and the Chisel, as well as, of course, Idles, who have been experimenting more with like, art punk and art rock sounds on their latest releases is still very much there.

And yeah, it's not really surprising that there are a lot of bands making aggressive musical moves like this these days because there's a lot to be angry about. While, yeah, I think a lot of people find common sounds and themes between this Lambrini Girls album and some of those other artists that I just mentioned. Make no mistake, Lambrini Girls are not simply riding a wave here. They are also borrowing heavily from decades old punk traditions on this LP. There are riot girl vibes on this record, queer core as well. Tracks and lyrics that sound directly borrowed from amazing and influential records from Crass as well as the Slits.

Every song on this record has a very, very, very clear lyrical focus, be it the track "Bad Apple", which is all about violent police officers or company culture, which is all about being harassed and sexualized at the job. There's "Big Dick Energy", which is a big bumper sticker of a track that is all about toxic masculinity. "Nothing Tastes as Good as it Feels" describes the personal hell and torture of dealing with fear that you're getting fed and anorexia. You're not from around here is all about gentrification and essentially pricing people out of the homes and neighborhoods that they are originally from.

"Filthy Rich Nepo Baby" is one of my personal favorites, and it's all about posers in the music scene, essentially just using their trust fund money and using their privilege to try to force their way into a successful music career. "Special Different", in a way, seems to address issues around autism, neurodivergence, that prevents you from picking up on certain social cues, beating yourself up afterwards when you are grading to other people or just having a difficult time navigating conversations, social situations. The depression as well. It's also one of the most musically dynamic tracks on the record, and the quickly strummed swells of guitar cords and screams on the back end of the song make for a genuinely heart-wrenching moment.

Also, shout out to the closer, "Cuntology 101". It's all about how to be C-U-N-T-Y. (If I say it, this video will get demonetized, and then no one will see it!) Anyway, this is one of the more fun and upbeat tongue and cheek and playful cuts on the record, and is pretty much a how-to guide on how to reach the band's standards for that thing.

So yeah, obviously, in terms of its lyrics and its focus, this album most definitely passes the punk rock muster. But the production a lot of the time is pretty interesting, too, from the roaring heavy walls of guitars and bass on the intro track, as well as the warped siren samples, to the closing cut that I just mentioned that sees the band embracing synthesizers and dance beats and some really tight high hats, too. For a straight-up punk album, there's actually quite a bit of sonic and production detail across this record that I wouldn't have necessarily expected, which makes this an album that, in my opinion, is just sound topically, aesthetically, structurally. The way it's assembled, I think, makes this for a punk album pretty palatable.

I mean, is it the most pleasant thing to listen to in the world? No. But it's fucking punk rock. It's not pop. Also, I know the lyrics don't read like a collegiate master's thesis. I don't know where this expectation came from that every punk song that we hear just result in this amazing mind-blowing revelation that we never had ever conceived before in our lives. I mean, it's protest music. It's supposed to be speaking to an experience that we're all having. I'm sorry if you're not having the same reaction to this record at your old jaded age that you did at American Idiot when you first heard it.

The album is catharsis. It's not supposed to be the solution to all your problems.

For sure, you could argue about whether or not the ironic tongue-and-cheek re-appropriation joke going on on the track "No Homo" – does it truly land? The song, lyrically, while I do think it makes some valid points, simultaneously, it does come across maybe a bit too cynical or disillusioned.

Here and there on the record, the guitar work and riffs come across like a bit of a basic rock and roll thing. I don't know, it could be wilder, in my opinion.

As long as I'm complaining, I think this record's biggest Achilles' heel is that there are points at which it is derivative to a fault. But with all of that being said, it's still a kick-ass debut from a band that is showing a lot of promise early on in this stage of their career and certainly bringing a lot of raw energy, too, which I only hope to hear increase on further releases, which is why I'm feeling a decent to strong 7 on this thing.

Anthony Fantano. Lambrini Girls. Forever.