Lambrini Girls’ debut album ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ makes a bold statement, as the band challenges the labels often placed on them. In a recent interview with Kerrang! Magazine, Phoebe Lunny and Lilly Macieira shared their thoughts on being labeled as a ‘three-chord punk band’ and compared it to the Riot Grrrl movement.
“I personally want people to listen to our actual music a little bit more. We get labeled a three-chord punk band a lot, and that irks me a little bit because I don’t think we are,” Macieira shared during the chat. “I’m hoping people get more involved in the music and the songwriting. Obviously, we’re a really outspoken political band and that’s kind of at the core of our identity, but I think sometimes people forget that we’re, first and foremost, musicians.”
Macieira emphasized that while they are politically outspoken, their identity as musicians is just as important. “I think another layer to it is that we’re also two very femme-presenting people, so naturally when people make comparisons about our band, we get compared to other political bands that sound absolutely nothing like us, rather than being compared to bands that we actually sound like. I find that a little bit frustrating sometimes,” she continued.
“Getting called a riot grrrl band is very much not a sign of the times anymore. We’re not a riot grrrl band, we sound nothing like the riot grrrl movement,” added Macieira. “The movement was very political so I see why people would draw parallels, but at the end of the day it does feel like we only get called riot grrrl because we’re women.”
The band also faces the issue of being labeled as ‘female-fronted’ and compared to male musicians. They believe it’s time to stop categorizing music based on gender. “I think it’s time for the genre of ‘women in music’ to be put to bed and to just let queer people and women make music and stop differentiating it from men making music.”
They also discussed their frustrations with being compared to other political bands that don’t share their style, as well as being referred to as ‘female-fronted.’ “‘Female-fronted’, ‘female guitarist’ – these are the prefixes that make the pair groan and share an eye roll. I’d love it if people stopped doing that and maybe compared us on the basis of what we actually sound like rather than the fact that we’re women playing alternative music.”
Since their 2023 EP ‘You’re Welcome,’ Lambrini Girls have performed at major festivals like Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds. Their debut album was released on January 10.
