No Obligation - The Linda Lindas
By: Enya Xiang
The Linda Lindas write about adolescence from fresh experience, not nostalgia. The four-part, all-female band gained attention for their pandemic single ‘Racist Sexist Boy’ in 2021, when their ages ranged from 10 to 16. Three years later, their sophomore album No Obligation is a colorful and frank lens into their teenage experiences, tightly packaged into half an hour.
It’s a wonder that a band so young could wield such firm creative control. The magic of the Linda Lindas is that they sound neither childish nor wise beyond their years. They represent themselves in the present through their raw youth and growing maturity. No Obligation reminds us that the teenage years are being lost, inundated by uncertainty and doubt. In this turbulent life stage, they have cultivated the ability to communicate with striking clarity and vulnerability. When the great big world threatens to swallow them up, the Linda Lindas are still determined to create a small valiant impact in it.
The album begins with a seeing-red type of opener with ‘No Obligation’. Vocalist and bassist Eloise Wong screams with menacing force, “You’d like me better if I grew out my hair,” rejecting the pressures of social conformity and refusing to change for anyone. “Better when you act like your emotions are dead,” she retorts sarcastically. Her heavy shouts ramp up aggressively in the outro with a flurry of call-and-response with the background vocals.
The rocker confidence transforms into soft contemplation, which is the album’s true nature. The pop-rock ‘All In My Head’ speaks to the aches and anxieties of growing up, such as the deafening urge to be alone. The chorus’s sharp wit is anchored by a fragile weariness in the bridge: “I’m a casualty of years spent waiting for some kind of sign.” The Spanish track ‘Yo Me Estreso’, featuring “Weird Al” Yankovic on the accordion, divulges intrusive thoughts about other people’s perceptions. The song is about “always being stressed, always being anxious and thinking that people are mad at you when they really aren’t,” according to band member Bela Salazar.
The Linda Lindas have mastered underlying their playful lyrics with deep introspection. Critics often name the band the successors of the 90s riot grrl movement, and the Linda Lindas’ 2021 cover of ‘Rebel Girl’ by Bikini Kill makes this an easy case to make. Yet, the upbeat, stripped-down ‘Once Upon A Time’ questions the role of rage. “I’m good at being angry,” Wong coolly informs us but then admits, “Why are they all so angry? I hate picking sides.” The carefree ‘Don’t Think’ describes becoming sick of reality as Wong imagines rolling down the stairs for fun. Despite feeling overwhelmed, she finds comfort in her individuality, the fact that no one could be exactly “be a thing like me”.
Despite the overwhelming uncertainties of growing up, the Linda Lindas believe in the small sheer power of doing what is right. The group finds their strength by challenging the world that they grew up in. In ‘Resolution/Revolution’, Wong sharply criticizes the complacency of her elders (“your sympathy is wasted”) and concludes with a simple but effective declaration, “We’re so small but we stand tall.” The album wouldn’t be complete without a few mischievous verbal digs. Riff-ridden ‘Excuse Me’ ends with an authoritative punch, “Save all your gender essentialism crap.” The album ends abruptly with ‘Stop’, in which the Linda Lindas declare they have better things to do.
Despite their youth, the Linda Lindas perform and create as serious musicians, evoking the playfulness of childhood and bittersweet intensity of adolescence. No Obligation demonstrates the band’s growing lyrical evolution and instrumental skills and clue into their boundless potential.