The Linda Lindas photo by Zen Sekizawa / Vice Cooler and Erica Dawn Lyle photo by Midnight Piper Forman
After spending the past month teasing their upcoming record LAND TRUST: Benefit for The North East Farmers of Color (available exclusively on Bandcamp) – Bikini Kill’s Erica Dawn Lyle and The Raincoats’ Vice Cooler mark the release of their debut album today with the video premiere of the album’s latest single, the all-out punk banger “Lost in Thought.” This song is the duo’s collaboration with The Linda Lindas and Bikini Kill’s Kathi Wilcox.
As with all of the other songs on LAND TRUST – including the record’s first two singles, made with Kathleen Hanna and Kim Gordon respectively – the song was the result of a remote collaboration between Lyle and Cooler that began in the early days of the pandemic. Lyle approached Cooler with the idea that they’d write songs together via file sharing ask their friends in their music community to add vocals, lyrics, and bass. Then they’d make the results available as a benefit record.
Lyle says, “When we came up with the music for this one, it just felt like a rager and it brought to mind for me the pure exuberance of The Linda Lindas, so I suggested we invite them to sing on it. I thought of asking Kathi to add bass because I just remember how much we all enjoyed playing with and being around The Linda Lindas when they opened for Bikini Kill at The Palladium in 2019. Having them on a track with Kathi also really fit with the general theme of the record we were making which was shaping up as an intergenerational lineup of lady rocker badasses.”
Lucia of The Linda Lindas commented on the songwriting process: “We all liked the idea of a call-and-response vocal thing in the verse, which really just took after the instrumental part. It’s about feeling overwhelmed by everything bottled up in your brain and getting so lost in yourself you become unaware of your surroundings.”
Bella chimes in: “In the bridge, there’s this chaos. It’s meant to represent how sometimes there are so many ideas or thoughts or just things on your mind, which gets so busy, and it’s supposed to feel like just the right amount of too much.”
The video, directed by Cooler, captures the infectious kids-being-kids vibes of The Linda Lindas, as seen through a SoCal skate-punk lens. It was shot while all of the artists were still observing strict covid protocols – but it didn’t stop them from having fun at the shoot. The Linda Lindas’ Mila recounts her experience: “We got to jump around and we even had a little circle pit. There were skateboards, cartwheels, dancing, cool poses, and hanging upside down on monkey bars. We checked all the boxes!” Cooler agrees, “We had a really positive afternoon filming and shot everyone in under one hour!”
“Lost in Thought” brings out the punk roots of The Linda Lindas (collectively made up of teenagers Eloise Wong, Lucia de la Garza, Mila de la Garza and Bella Salazar), who deliver chaotic, high energy vocals that are complemented by Cooler’s animalistic drumming, and Lyle’s fierce punk riffs which are grounded by Kathi Wilcox’s smooth bassline. Cooler says of the collaboration, “I grew up learning to drum to records that Wilcox played on. It was a surreal experience to get to work with someone who has written so many great songs. And The Linda Lindas feel similarly – and they really elevated the collaboration with their incredibly perfect vocal contributions.”
While all of the artists involved have worked to raise funds for various organizations they believe in, this song in particular is a benefit for Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust (NEFOC) – a grassroots, Indigenous-led group who acquire land in order to return it to Indigenous nations and POC farmers. Lyle says of NEFOC, “They help farmers purchase the land and set up legal land trust structures so that the land is collectively owned in perpetuity. They also help fund the start up of black-owned farms and lobby big corporate landholders to simply give land back to Indigenous and POC groups”
100% of the proceeds from the record will go to the purchase of new land.
Eloise had this to say: “It’s the best when people not only make music that sounds cool, but music that can actually make a difference. All I want is to be able to make a difference and effect change in the world, and music provides a great outlet for us to do that. It’s so awesome how even if it’s just one song, music can be so powerful and do so much.”
THE LINDA LINDAS ON TOUR:
Jun 4 Sat – Rock am Ring – Nürburg, Germany
Jun 5 Sun – Rock im Park – Nürnberg, Germany
Jun 7 Tue – O2 Academy Islington – London, United Kingdom
Jul 2 Sat – Mosswood Meltdown – Oakland, CA
Jul 11 Mon – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
Jul 12 Tue – Slowdown – Omaha, NE
Jul 14 Thu – Castle Theatre – Bloomington, IL
Jul 15 Fri – The Pageant – St Louis, MO
Jul 17 Sun – Bell’s Brewery – Kalamazoo, MI
Jul 19 Tue – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
Jul 20 Wed – Black Cat – Washington, DC
Jul 21 Thu – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA
Jul 22 Fri – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
Jul 24 Sun – Newport Folk Festival – Newport, RI
Aug 20 Sat – Summer Sonic 2022 – Tokyo, Japan
Aug 20 Sat – Summer Sonic – Ōsaka, Japan
Sep 29 Thu – Théâtre Rialto – Montréal, QC
Oct 1 Sat – Forest Hills Stadium – Forest Hills, NY
Oct 6 Thu – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 22 Sat – When We Were Young – Las Vegas, NV
Oct 29 Sat – When We Were Young – Las Vegas, NV
BIKINI KILL ON TOUR
6/23 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
6/24 Charlottesville, VA @ The Jefferson Theater
6/25 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
6/27 Knoxville, TN @ The Mill & Mine
6/28 Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s Music Hall
6/30 Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
7/01 Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern
7/03 Oakland, CA @ Mosswood Meltdown
7/08 New York, NY @ Rooftop at Pier 17
7/09 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
7/11 Silver Spring @ MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
7/12 Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
7/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
7/15 Boston, MA @ Boch Center Wang Theatre
7/16 South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Burlington
7/18 Montreal, QC @ M Telus
7/19 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
7/20 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
7/22 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre
7/23 Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
7/24 Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
8/05 Katowice, Poland @ OFF Festival
8/07 Berlin, Germany @ Astra Kulturhaus
8/08 Hamburg, Germany @ Gruenspan
8/11 Gothenburg, Sweden @ Way Out West Festival
8/12-14 Helsinki, Finland @ Flow Festival
9/08 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
9/09 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
9/11 Olympia, WA @ Capitol Theater
9/12 Olympia, WA @ Capitol Theater
9/15 Victoria, BC @ Distrikt Victoria
9/17 Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Park
ABOUT NEFOC
NEFOC is an Indigenous and POC-led grassroots organization that seeks to connect POC farmers to land, to grow healthy foods and medicines for our communities. We plan to accomplish this by acquiring and returning land to Indigenous nations and respectfully connecting Black, Asian, and Latinx and other POC farmers and land stewards to land while centering and respecting Indigenous sovereignty. nefoclandtrust.
Erica Dawn Lyle & Vice Cooler
LAND TRUST: Benefit For North East Farmers of Color
(Self-Released)
Release Date: June 3, 2022
Purchase it here
Track List:
2. Lost In Thought (Featuring The Linda Lindas w/ Kathi Wilcox)
3. Mirrorball (Featuring Kathleen Hanna)
4. Debt Collector (Featuring Kim Gordon)
5. Soul Fire Farm (Featuring Alice Bag, Emily Retsas)
6. The Immortals (Featuring Brontez Purnell)
7. Can’t Fight Me (Featuring Ah-Mer-Ah-Su)
8. Agave (Featuring The Raincoats)
9. Break A Window (Featuring Rachel Aggs, Emily Retsas)
10. Flashes Of Knowing (Featuring Christina Billotte)
11. Cracks In The Ceiling (Featuring Ali Carter, Emily Retsas)
12. Star Fuck (Featuring Louisahhh)
13. Bodies (Featuring Kelley Deal, Emily Retsas, Sarah Register)
14. PS Forever (Featuring Satomi Matsuzaki)
15. Never Was (Featuring Ivy Jeanne, Mike Watt)
16. Hearing Myself Again (Featuring Palberta, Emily Retsas, Anne Wood)