Live Review | Lambrini Girls @ O2 Forum Kentish Town

Matt Wellham

After years of photographing and filming the London music scene, Matt’s now based in Sydney, Australia. A lover of the post-punk and alternative movement, he can usually be found in the grassroots venues, camera in one hand and a beer in the other.

Lambrini Girls return to London to kick off their mammoth 22-stop UK/EU winter tour. With bottles of Lambrini in hand and a very special surprise guest, it was a roaring return to the stage

Lambrini Girls’ debut album ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’, which was released at the start of January, injected a much-needed blast of fury into the cold winter months. Ten months on, it’s cropping up across multiple AOTY lists, with wide critical acclaim. So, coming into this show, I was thinking, can they take that snappy 29-minute record and all the acclaim it’s brought and turn it into a performance to match? Well yes. Yes they fucking can.

The first night of their UK/EU winter tour was always destined to sell out, in fact they sold out the entire tour before playing a single note. On this night, the old art-deco cinema in North London was rammed with fans draped in the band’s merch. You didn’t have to look far to spot a ‘Cuntology 101’ tee and it was a clear sign: this crowd was so ready for Lambrini Girls.

At 9.30pm, vocalist Phoebe Lunny and bassist Selin Macieira Boşgelmez tore onto the stage, Phoebe whipping the room into a frenzy before Selin dropped the growling bassline of ‘Bad Apple’. Drummer Misha Phillips spun around the kit at breakneck speed, setting the pace for the night ahead.

Written in the aftermath of Sarah Everard’s murder by a serving police officer, ‘Bad Apple’ exploded into a collective moshpit, hundreds screaming back, “Officer, what seems to be the problem?”

One of the reasons ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ hits so hard on record is the purpose behind each song’s lyrics. Every track has a sharp, punctuated message that’s delivered without holding back, and live, that message becomes a visceral statement that’s tangible to the touch.

When the band launched into ‘Company Culture’, a track calling out the bullshit women, trans and non-binary people face in the workplace, the Forum roared the line “When will I learn that men just do it better?” with biting sarcasm. On stage, Phoebe and Selin met to shred through the closing riff, a thrashy, throw yourself around moment that felt downright feral.

Between songs, Phoebe laid down the rules of the pit: “What do you do when someone falls over? Pick them back up!” Mosh Pits, walls of death, maelstroms; the room never stopped moving. Phoebe hurled herself over the barrier multiple times, conducting the carnage from the thick of the crowd. Later, she’d appear up on the balcony, arms outstretched, orchestrating what she demanded would be “the biggest mosh pit Kentish Town’s ever seen.”.

The setlist didn’t shy away from the hits. Erupting with venom, ‘God’s Country’‘s lyrics felt particularly sharp after this year’s anti-immigration protests. Lines like “Racist uncles want their country back” and “Flag shaggers, Maggie Thatcher” were screamed back at the stage while Selin’s bass thundered off the walls. You can laugh at the wit of the lyrics before the reality of it hits you square in the chest.

Mid-set, the band paused the chaos to speak about the causes they champion. Phoebe reiterated that the entire tour is partnered with Stand Up To Racism (which has now been replaced with smaller, on-the-ground organisations, after some backlash) and Misha stepped forward to deliver a powerful speech for trans rights. Chants of “Free, free Palestine” surged through the crowd, alongside unwavering support for queer and trans communities. Lambrini Girls have never been subtle about what they stand for and seeing a whole room rally behind those beliefs is part of what makes their shows so electric. They turn outrage into a community.

As the night neared its end, the synth-heavy ‘Cuntology 101’ sprang to life. After leading chants of “C-U-N-T! I’m gonna do what’s best for me, that’s cunty!”, Phoebe suddenly halted the track: “Actually, I want to do the Peaches remix.” I couldn’t think of a better introduction for Peaches herself, clad in chrome, to join for one final, explosive “C-U-N-T!”

Closing with ‘Big Dick Energy’, the band delivered one of their sharpest, funniest and most on-the-nose lyrical moments of the night. “Oh my god, you think you’re absolutely everything” a perfect send-off to any big ego’d males that may be lurking nearby.

While ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’ is rightly scooping up AOTY nominations, Lambrini Girls are now in serious contention for one of the live shows of the year too. If there are any SOTY awards going, they’d get my vote.