LAMBRINI GIRLS STIR UP A FEROCIOUSLY FIZZY RUCKUS AT SOLD-OUT LEXINGTON HEADLINER
Lambrini holds memories for most, especially of messy teenage years. Those fizzy bottles stir up thoughts of first hangovers and house parties - so it’s a fitting name for this fiery punk trio, whose show at the Lexington on Wednesday was so unpredictable, it was impossible not to live in the moment
Photo credit: Jamie MacMillan
Launching themselves onstage to the sweet accompaniment of ‘Bangarang’ by Skrillex, it was clear from the start that Lambrini Girls’ sold-out headliner at the Lexington would be one to remember. The three-piece from Brighton have already garnered a solid reputation for their explosively high energy, ferocious live shows. Combining hilarious wit and fun with a commitment to tackling homophobia, transphobia, and sexual misconduct in the music industry, they’re a band keeping the political in punk while having a hell of a lot of fun.
Bottle of wine in hand, lead vocalist Phoebe Lunny fearlessly roars her first words into the mic - “who’s ready to fuck?!” - before drenching the audience with what’s left. Feedback screeches, guitars go into overdrive, bass booms, and drums smash as the band throw themselves into the first song of the night, ‘Big Dick Energy’. Before there’s even so much as a chance to recalibrate, Lunny and her guitar disappear into the mosh pit, and despite the commotion, the band’s instrumentals remain watertight. Lost in the crowd, Lunny roars for everyone to sit down. The entire room obeys without question, before leaping back up and thrashing for the cacophonous final chorus.
Photo credit: Jamie MacMillan
‘Help Me I’m Gay’ is the second number to launch into action, with Lunny singing the dissonant, garage punk track from atop someone’s shoulders. A true celebration of queerness ensues, as she asks for all the “gay legends'' to put their hands up, with some introducing themselves to enthusiastic applause. It all feels like one big party - the band part of the audience, and the audience part of the band. There’s no chance that the crowd at the back of the room could feel left out either, as Lunny flies over to perform ‘Mr Love Bomb’ stood on top of the bar, before igniting impassioned crowd chants for politically charged numbers ‘Terf Wars’ and ‘Lads Lads Lads’.
Despite the seemingly unending frivolity - singing from shoulders, crowd surfing, and Lambrini drinking - there’s an urgency as Lunny introduces their penultimate song, ‘Boys in the Band’. Beneath Lambrini Girls’ fierce aesthetic lies a serious and sobering raison d'être, and this becomes clear as Lunny silences the crowd to talk about the industry’s rife sexual exploitation and the importance of calling out your friends. Broadcasting these issues feels like an authentic and hugely important element of their performance and identity as a band, and it’s empowering to hear them talk about it so openly, bluntly, and unapologetically.
Photo credit: Jamie MacMillan
“We all need to look after each other,” says Lunny. The message is one of the main takeaways of the night, and with an appeal to all the Radio 6 dads in the audience to go and buy some merch, Lambrini Girls leave the stage in the same effortlessly cool fashion in which they came on: to the sounds of unending applause, and yes, soaked in Lambrini. They’re everything you could really ask for in a punk band, and it truly feels like this trio are paving their way to stardom - one fizzy bottle at a time.