The Linda Lindas: Mosh pits, cat whiskers and world domination

In 2018 they were recruited by Kristin Kontrol (Dum Dum Girls) to play covers at a festival, winning them new fans and collaborators from Karen O to Best Coast – and arguably achieving more in their chrysalis years than some bands manage in a lifetime. Although they wouldn't put it so dramatically.

"We were not good, we were just a kid band that learned these songs in less than two weeks," insists guitarist Lucia. "We started out just trying to learn our instruments basically on stage, and never imagined that we would've ended up here. But we kind of fell in love with the feeling because we were having so much fun."

The band, consisting of sisters Lucia and Mila de la Garza, Eloise Wong and Bela Salazar, join us from Los Angeles ahead of the launch of second album No Obligation. Bringing together elements of garage punk, power pop and new wave, the record was recorded in bursts during school holiday. From the howl of the title track to the quiet rage of closer "Stop", it's an assertive sophomore outing cemented by catchy hooks and rock-solid friendship.

The band themselves give off an aura of unflappable cool, seemingly unfazed by their own rapid ascent. Being thrown in the deep end as a live act – before they even figured out what music they wanted to make – appears to have granted them a fearlessness from the get-go, maybe because opportunities to support their heroes arrived faster than they could overthink them. "Our practices started to get more serious when Bikini Kill invited us to play with them at the Palladium," says Eloise, without skipping a beat.

Besides famous mentors, the band landed widespread attention in 2020 when their performance of "Racist, Sexist Boy" at the Los Angeles Public Library went viral. The library might have been empty, but inspired by a classmate's anti-Chinese slurs, the song dealt a much-needed blow to some of the racist sentiments circulating around the onset of COVID. The band were promptly signed to Epitaph Records and started writing their 2022 debut album Growing Up, produced by Lucia and Mila's dad Carlos de la Garza.

While the Linda Lindas started out as a live act, committing their ideas to record has solidified their vision and made them determined to set their sights beyond internet virality. "It really makes me grateful how much we've been able to learn over these past few years ever since that video blew up, because all we want to do is earn our place at the table," says Lucia.

What was it like returning to school after that initial moment in the spotlight? Did the classmate realise what his ignorant comments had unleashed? "No – it actually stopped being about him, it's not an angry song any more," reflects Eloise. "It gets such a good reception, and it's become more of a prideful thing that we even accomplished this."

A lot of the band's output focuses on solidarity and supporting one another through the various setbacks of adolescence. While hardly unusual for teenagers to spend time alone, lockdown meant their solitude and separation was never a conscious choice. Still, they put that confinement to good use; soaking up ideas, losing themselves down Spotify rabbit holes, trading lyrics over Zoom. It was a period which forced each member to master the basics of songwriting and musicianship, ultimately developing a greater appreciation of each other's company and their combined creative force.

The euphoric "Growing Up", for example, might sound like a universal coming-of-age anthem, but it also reflects the very specific challenges of the band's early history. "We were apart for a long time during these formative years of our lives, and it was weird to be doing that without some of the people most important to you," explains Lucia. "When I wrote that song I was thinking about how at least when the pandemic's over, it's not like I'll be done growing up. I'll still have more growing to do, and I'll get to do it with my friends."

Friendship is a major part of how the band operates, and they also exhibit a fiercely democratic approach to making music. All four members sing and write songs, resulting in an eclectic mix of genres and subject matter, whether they're focusing on beloved family pets, outsider-hood or standing up to bullies.

"We like to keep it so that everyone has an equal voice in the band," Eloise agrees. "Because our first album was written separately, we've been collaborating more this time, and being in the same room made everything more fun and more real. I can just write a riff and bring it to practice and I'll have everybody help me finish it."

Meanwhile for Bela, writing lyrics in Spanish is a way of tapping into her roots, but also emotions she hasn't always felt comfortable expressing. Her track "Yo Me Estreso" borrows elements of Mexican banda music to explore themes of anxiety and paranoia. "A lot of Lucia and Eloise's songs are from the heart, but I personally do not like to share what I'm feeling. So writing in Spanish felt like a way to put a wall or a barrier between my feelings and other people," she expands.

"It just felt a little more safe. Also I wanted to incorporate some of our culture into the music, because we're portrayed as an Asian band, which is awesome, but Lucia, Mila and I are half-Mexican, and I think that's important to point out."

However exposing it might feel to pen lyrics, the teamwork required to finish a song usually dispels any lingering feelings of doubt. "It's lucky that we have three other people to share it to first before we share it to the entire world," Eloise continues. "Once you've played a song enough times, it loses its vulnerability. It becomes like, okay I have this song out and it's no big deal. But that first step of sharing it to the band is so scary."

But if their tour schedule is anything to go by, the Linda Lindas don't waste much time hesitating. 2024 has seen them open for the Rolling Stones as well as a slew of shows with Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid. Do they have any survival strategies for touring? "For me, it's to milk the most value out of it I possibly can," says Eloise. "During the last tour, we would play for twenty minutes and then I'd rush off stage to remove the cat whiskers I'd drawn on my face, then get in the crowd to start a pit for Rancid. Also, when there's catering, I always pile up as much food as possible! We just try to do everything to the maximum."

Finally, the dreaded, slightly patronising question. Do the band get tired of always being framed in terms of their youth? "I think it's two-sided because it's not like we're trying to hide our age," Lucia replies carefully. "So it's empowering, but also kind of scary because we're not going to stay this age forever. Once that wears off, I don't know. With the music industry, it's a tricky balance trying to stay true to ourselves while also protecting ourselves. But we're musicians first. We don't want to undervalue that.

"A lot of times we're trying to prove ourselves because we feel like we get underestimated. We were able to do that with live performance, so we wanted to do it with a recorded performance too. I think we succeeded with this album."

And with that the Linda Lindas head off into the L.A. sunshine, ready to cram for maths tests and rehearse for an upcoming headline show at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Youth is certainly not wasted on this band.