We already know Lambrini Girls aren’t going to hold their tongues when there’s bad things going down. After a Reading 2024 set that saw them deliver in their now trademark style, we caught up for a debrief.
Words: Finlay Holden.
Photos: Patrick Gunning.
Lambrini Girls arrive at Reading with a ferocity that leaves no room for doubt about their intentions. Kicking off Friday’s chaos, they prove once again why they’ve become quite possibly the most vital voice in UK punk. Their set, a wild ride from start to finish, is a masterclass in controlled anarchy, where queer liberation anthems collide with biting social critique. Within minutes, they have the entire crowd at their command, kneeling one moment and exploding into a frenzy the next. Their blend of humour, rage, and unfiltered punk energy transforms the stage into a rowdy but undeniably safe space, where messages of solidarity with Palestine and unapologetic queer pride ring out loud and clear. We caught up with the Brighton duo — Phoebe Lunny and Lily Macieira — to debrief.
Lambrini Girls have played all over the world, but 2024 is your first Reading together?
Phoebe: I’ve never played it, no. I came here when I was 17 and just took a shit ton of drugs and did stupid shit as you do when you’re 17. I’d never come here as a punter. I don’t think I’m cut out for it, I feel ancient.
Lily: I feel well old. It’s horrible.
As performers, you were able to match and outdo the chaos from the crowd for an energetic and frenetic set. A common theme in your songs is anger; is that your favourite way to channel your thoughts on political things?
Phoebe: I think it has changed for both of us. A lot of the time I find it a lot easier to be observant with things and point the finger when I’m writing lyrics. I think it’s arguably trickier to be more introspective when I’m pointing the finger at myself, but that’s not to deter from the fact that we are very pissed off about a lot of things. It’s a good platform. Although as the anger is felt about politics, Lambrini Girls is as much about music and vice versa—the politics side couldn’t exist without the musicianship itself. We get a lot of ‘three chord punk’ comments and I think that’s just because people listen to the lyrics and go ‘oh they’re loud and they’re fucking women,’ but if you listen to it, we’re a little more complex too.
When you make this kind of music, you must have to anticipate that some people aren’t going to like it (often for the wrong reasons), and learn to ignore the labels?
Lily: Yeah, if you’re talking about mass mobilization and stuff like that, you’re doing it to change minds as much as it’s about enforcing safe spaces and connecting with people who already share the same beliefs and values as you. If you’re constantly screaming into an echo chamber, you’re not going to change any minds or affect any positive change. As much as it’s about enforcing those spaces that are safe, it’s kind of got to be a double whammy. If you’re preaching to the choir then nothing is ever going to change.
Would you almost prefer to play to a crowd who do disagree with you?
Phoebe: Yeah, I’d say so!
Does that happen often?
Lily: I guess it happens when you go into new spaces and territories. There’s always going to be a portion of people who come to see you and don’t really know what you’re about. They see you and they don’t like it. The important thing is, we do play to those people. Lyrically, besides anger there’s a lot of humour in Phoebe’s lyrics as well. I know that Phoebe thinks that’s an important way to win people over and it has become an important part of our identity. Just taking the piss a bit.
Balancing anger and humour on such topics is a refined skill—is that one you brought into Lambrini Girls from past experience in bands, or something you’ve developed over time?
Phoebe: Developed over time. I think when you start something and it’s a small local band with dreams it’s very different to when that materializes and you’re like: oh shit, this is our lives now. Everything is very different to how you envisage it before it all happens. The crazier it gets, the more all-encompassing it gets. I absolutely love it. It’s so fulfilling. The actual work that comes with that, you can’t really be prepared for.
Lily: I think Lambrini Girls as an entity has been through quite the evolution and it did happen all organically. At first you’re getting to know how you work together, writing music and focusing on playing gigs. Once it gets more full-time, there are different aspects to consider like work ethic, how you work together and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Luckily mine and Phoebe’s strengths and weaknesses balance each other out. Where I lack, she makes up for it and vice versa. I really struggle socially and with networking and strategically; the music industry is a fucking mystery to me and most people, but Phoebe is very into it. However, when it comes to organisation, I have to take the lead on that. I think we’ve got a good dynamic worked out where I handle a lot of things that need pre-thought and organisation, then Phoebe is really good at picking things up when shit hits the fan.
Phoebe: Lily is very good at forward thinking and I’m more about thinking in the moment.
Lily: It’s like crisis management and crisis aversion.
It’s great that you have those sides balanced as you transition into bigger shows, more shows, shows alongside bigger names… there’s plenty of that to come very soon, right?
Phoebe: We’re doing two shows at Ally Pally with IDLES in November. It’s nice to play with your favourites. We’ve just done a US tour with Amyl and The Sniffers who have been one of my favourite bands for like 8 years. I was like, holy fuck. It was a whole month in America. You know when you meet someone you’ve idolized for so long and you don’t know how to behave around them so you’re like ‘HELLO, YES, NICE TO MEET YOU’? I was a bit weird around them. It was really nice to befriend people you’ve idolized.
As things get more hectic, you have plenty more material in the bank to deliver; if anything, there’s more to talk about now than ever before.
Phoebe: When we were in America it was like Britain was burning down. Fascist wankers going round attacking mosques and burning immigration centers. It’s not that there’s always something to talk about, it’s that there’s always something you SHOULD be talking about and raising awareness for and educating others. That’s how information spreads. If there’s someone who doesn’t know about these things then that’s ok. Everyone has room to grow and learn. In the political climate now, if you don’t know about these things though you are actively ignoring them—so really, it also comes to a place where you have to stop people burying their head in the sand. Everything is politicised these days. If you’re actively choosing not to be political, that’s not ignorance; that’s a choice. If you’re a woman or if you’re femme presenting or a queer person your existence is politicized. There are different degrees of spectrum with that. There are some people just existing authentically, like non-binary and trans people, and their whole existence is politicised. Being in a femme band, me and Lily are both blonde femme presenting people and you see us and go ‘oh, two white blonde girlies’; of course, people still politicise and trivialise that too.
When you’re not educating others, who would you choose to educate you on a topic? Is there people around you who you would talk to?
Lily: It depends what it is. There isn’t anyone I know that’s an all seeing eye. There’s the community thing. I think being queer and being within that community there are conversations going on all the time because there has to be. It’s interacting with people and investing yourself with these issues. Neither of us are perfect. We can’t say our word is gospel. You learn as you go along and the important thing is to be willing to learn. That goes for anyone.
When you talk about community, does it feel like Lambrini Girls exists as part of a wider scene in Brighton?
Phoebe: We’ve got amazing friends in that scene. We’ve got amazing friends in CLT DRP who are a three-piece band who do a lot for the Brighton community and share similar values to what we do. Annie is someone you can always broach a political conversation with and seek advice from. The scene in itself can be quite interesting (for good and bad) but if you do need to rely on people for support, everyone is coming from the same place and there’s that element of trust so there’s a backbone. Whether that’s sharing experiences or looking for enlightenment on an issue, it’s a really good melting pot.
You talk about the bad sides on your track ‘Boys in the Band’, which you spoke about on stage today. But that’s not an issue restricted to any one scene.
Phoebe: We’ve gone across a lot of the globe. We’ve done the majority of Europe bar Spain, we’ve done the majority of America, the whole of the UK. Every single gig you ask: do you have a problem with your scene with (trigger warning) sexual assault and abuse? Everyone says yes. If you go to the arse end of the Netherlands or South America, everyone says the same thing. There hasn’t been one show where everyone’s gone no, everything’s fine. Nothing to see here. So no, it’s not just the salty sea air.
The first single you released after your debut EP – ‘God’s Country’ – plays on people being proud to be British and how nonsense that is, which feels pretty relevant right now?
Phoebe: It plays on the concept of nationalism and idealizing a country; it’s something that should be spoken about. As a band, we play on a lot of satire so it felt like an obvious thing to do. It was something I wanted to put to words for a while but I never wanted to do it for the sake of it. It had to be perfect so you’re not trivializing what you’re saying and not just going through a list, country’s fucked, yeah done. You don’t want to just go through and tick off the box of societal issues. It has to come from a place of genuine concern and thought and care. The political state of the UK… there were literal fascist riots and people of colour and trans people don’t feel safe in this country, women don’t feel safe in this country. It’s the west. If you’re in America or England, it’s built for cis straight white men and the rules are made by cis straight white men and nothing else. The country is absolutely fucked and we don’t have any autonomy politically or with our civil rights anymore. It’s a bit shit isn’t it?
From that strong and relevant statement, you went onto ‘Body of Mine’ which flips things entirely by looking internally.
Phoebe: We don’t play it anymore live because the song’s about not really knowing where you stand with your gender identity, how authentic you’re being with yourself and the dysphoria you feel with that. The irony is when we play that live, it makes me feel really dysphoric where I’m like: I can’t do this anymore. It’s hard to point the finger at yourself, and it’s scary to be vulnerable.
Was that material difficult to get out or did the strong emotions behind it drive the need to get them into the song?
Phoebe: I felt like I needed to get it out and it was something I wanted to do for ages. It felt nice to be able to put it into words and articulate it in a way that I felt was authentic. Because it was authentic, I was so vulnerable I was like, I don’t really want to play it. There’s a fine balance between how much you give yourself away and how much you keep for yourself. That goes for anyone in a band. It’s very hard to find those boundaries and that balance.
Do you think you’ve got to that healthy place with Lambrini Girls?
Phoebe: No! Still working towards it. ■
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