Starring a number of cats, the former Kenzo designer makes his directorial debut with the group’s new music video, Growing Up
If you’re unfamiliar with their music, The Linda Lindas are a Los Angeles-based, all-women punk band formed of four Asian and Latina teenage girls. Despite their age, the quartet has already made significant waves in the California music scene with their unique sound, which merges in-your-face power pop with classic punk undertones. They started off by playing all-age matinees in LA’s Chinatown in 2018, and quickly went on to open gigs for riot grrrl legends Bikini Kill and architect Alice Bag, as well as The Beths, Jawbreaker and California indie band Best Coast. Last year, their debut EP – released alongside DIY self-styled, self-shot music videos – saw their following expand outside of Los Angeles.
This week, the band announced the news of their upcoming album Growing Up – set to release on April 8 – with the drop of the record’s title track, which arrives with a energy-fuelled music video shot by former Kenzo designer and Opening Ceremony co-founder Humberto Leon. Both sugary and shouty, the video sees the band perform in colourful berets and retro outfits designed by Batsheva in a typical teenage bedroom. The video also stars a number of cats, each of which wear tiny berets to match the band members. Effusing with youthful energy and pep, the song and forthcoming album is an immersion into the Linda Lindas’ perspective on stages of girlhood and ‘growing up’.
“Directing my first video for the Linda Lindas was a dream come true because I love the message and voice the girls have, and I am a true fan,” Leon says of the video, which was shot on an iPhone 13 Pro Max. “I was really inspired by the girl’s love of cats and wanted to take that to the next level and so the video is a conversation about turning points in their lives all being viewed through the gaze of their cats. It creates a narrative of whether the cats want to trade places with the girls or vice versa. This video was extra special because I worked with the girls on designing the outfits with Batsheva, styling the looks with Rodarte and Warby Parker.”
Growing Up is due out digitally on 8 April 2022 via Epitaph Records. The Linda Lindas are streaming a mini-concert from Leon’s CHIFA restaurant in east LA tonight at 6pm EST.