LOS ANGELES, CA- The first time I saw The Linda Lindas perform was five years ago at Head In The Clouds. At the time, the quartet was only 13 to 16 years old, but they were already impossible to ignore. Armed with an unapologetic punk attitude and the kind of conviction musicians twice their age spend years trying to develop, Bela Salazar, Mila de la Garza, Lucia de la Garza, and Eloise Wong tore through their set with a confidence that suggested they were never interested in being viewed as a novelty. They were simply a great band.
Since then, it’s been fascinating to watch them grow.
Growth is inevitable, especially during your teenage years. The music you discover, the experiences you collect, and the confidence you gain inevitably reshape your creative instincts. While plenty of bands spend years trying to recreate the sound that first earned them attention, The Linda Lindas have done something far more interesting: they’ve allowed themselves to evolve without abandoning the spirit that made people fall in love with them in the first place.
Their latest single, “Closer,” featuring Hayley Williams, feels like another confident step forward.
The song trades some of the band’s raw garage-punk abrasiveness for layered guitars, soaring vocal melodies, and a polished production that never feels sanitized. The result isn’t a departure from The Linda Lindas’ identity so much as an expansion of it. The energy remains. The urgency remains. The honesty remains. They’ve simply discovered new ways to express it.
Hayley Williams’ presence feels equally natural. According to the band’s press materials, Williams joined them in the studio, helped write the bridge, and even spent the rest of the evening hanging out with them at Halloween Horror Nights. Rather than sounding like a guest appearance designed to generate headlines, the collaboration feels earned. Williams has spent decades navigating the same balance between punk roots and melodic ambition, making her an ideal creative partner for a band reaching a similar crossroads.
Ironically, one of my favorite vocal moments on “Closer” wasn’t Hayley’s at all. The first time I heard the song, I assumed one of the verses would belong to her. It wasn’t until midway that I realized it was Bela Salazar, whose vocal performance blends seamlessly alongside Williams’. Lucia de la Garza also shines during the bridge, reinforcing just how much each member has developed as both a vocalist and songwriter. As the band’s collective confidence has grown, so too has each individual’s voice.
Lyrically, “Closer” wrestles with something almost everyone eventually confronts: the realization that time doesn’t slow down simply because we’d like it to.
“The smoke’s getting closer…”
“How much time do we have?”
“I’m breathing in, and choking on lost time.”
The song captures the strange tension between wanting to stay present while simultaneously feeling like life is racing ahead. It’s a reflection on growing older without ever sounding cynical, acknowledging that change can feel both exhilarating and unsettling at the same time.
Whether intentional or not, those themes quietly complement where The Linda Lindas find themselves today.
Five years ago, they were the young punk band everyone couldn’t stop talking about. Today, they’re young adults discovering who they want to become as artists. Just as “Closer” acknowledges that time keeps moving whether we’re ready or not, The Linda Lindas have embraced that reality creatively. Instead of resisting change, they’ve welcomed it, trusting that authenticity isn’t defined by repeating yourself but by honestly reflecting where you are in the moment.
Perhaps that’s what impresses me most about this latest chapter. Plenty of bands mature by sanding off the edges that made them exciting. The Linda Lindas have managed to broaden their musical vocabulary while preserving the fearless sincerity that’s always been at the heart of what they do.
If “Closer” is any indication of what GOTTA GET OUT has in store, The Linda Lindas aren’t leaving their past behind. They’re simply proving that growing up doesn’t have to mean growing away from yourself.
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