Who Let The Dogs Out

As raw and energetic as ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ is, it’s over after a breathless half-hour. There’s enough variety to keep attention firmly on this exciting duo, who might just be one of the best up-and-coming British bands.

Though lyrics are undoubtedly Lambrini Girls’ prime weapon of choice, with Phoebe also spitting home truths about police corruption (‘Bad Apple’), workplace misogyny (‘Company Culture’), industry inequality (‘Filthy Rich Nepo Baby’) and more, the record’s instrumentals nevertheless hold the weight of her words with ease; cleaner, more ambitious, and more diverse than the arrangements on 2023 EP ‘You’re Welcome’, they cement the duo as natural successors to modern punk rock greats like Green Day, SOFT PLAY and Amyl and The Sniffers.

They’ve done something even more audacious than dropping a track with an off-the-scale number of C-words in it. They’ve dropped an album of the year contender just 10 days into 2025. Big power move, that.

Lambrini Girls’ music is not for everyone, but nor is it meant to be, and, taken as a statement of intent from one of Britain’s most hyped new bands, it’s a pretty ballsy one. Big d--k energy, indeed.

This is a fantastically violent album, and it’s an inspiring one too — every dick punch they throw hits your heart just as hard.

Lambrini Girls keep the levels of earned outrage cranked up high and apologies at near zero while continuing to take on topics like gender inequity, political and cultural atrocities, and bad behavior in general on their full-length and City Slang debut, Who Let the Dogs Out.

For all its unrelenting full-throttle approach and its way with a jagged riff – and Lambrini Girls are very good at coming up with jagged riffs – there’s a richness to Who Let the Dogs Out’s sound that suggests a range of potential routes forward.

Nu-riot grrrls who may well be doing it better than anyone since Bikini Kill. [Feb 2025, p.91]

"Bad Apples'" Sonic Youth guitars provide a punkish response to policing following Sarah Everard's murder, while "Company Culture" breathlessly addresses workplace harassment. They boast a grim wit too. [Feb 2025, p.36]

There are memorable lines galore if you can keep up with Lunny's runaway train delivery.

In a world that coerces you to doomspell yourself to bed-ridden misery, I’d like to manifest some positive thinking here: Who Let The Dogs Out has all the ingredients to break that aforementioned loop and move the needle further – with each track managing an infectious balancing act between cheeky humor and righteous rage.

Recorded with Gilla Band bassist Daniel Fox, Who Let the Dogs Out wisely leans on nosier elements when the subject matter gets earnest.

Lambrini Girls are political but transgressive, smart but not pretentious (no way!), humourous, but dark - very dark indeed. Subversive, in all the hidden senses of the word. [Feb 2025, p.73]

Sure, the duo's musical palette is a little limited, and Phoebe Lunny’s nasal snarl starts to become a little grating after a while, but the furious lyrics and frenetic guitars certainly make for a fun listen.