The Linda Lindas are leaning into change on their newly announced third album and major-label debut, GOTTA GET OUT, due Aug. 28 via Reprise/Warner Records. The Los Angeles quartet previewed the set today (July 10) with lead track “Closer,” which features Paramore’s Hayley Williams.
The song began as a bilingual demo that bandmates Bela Salazar and Lucia de la Garza were writing while Eloise Wong and Mila de la Garza were at school, before it evolved into a towering wall of guitars and layered vocals. Rather than recording her contribution remotely, Williams joined the band in the studio, helped write the bridge and, afterward, accompanied them to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. She later told the group that “Closer” reminded her of listening to her teenage self.
“‘Closer’ is about feeling like you’re losing control of time, and watching yourself grow older from afar,” Salazar and Lucia de la Garza said. “Lately, we’ve been realizing how important it is to stay present, especially when our lives feel constantly in motion. It feels perfect that Hayley Williams was down to collaborate on this song with us, because we’ve been fans of her throughout so many of her different eras — and she’s seen us grow up over the last 10 years. We’ll always be honored that we got to write and get emo with the queen of emo herself.”
According to the band, GOTTA GET OUT captures a turning point after years of relentless touring and rising acclaim. Retreating to Palm Springs and Long Beach, the four members wrote together in the same room for the first time, transforming unfinished ideas and spontaneous demos into what they describe as their most expansive and personal collection yet.
It’s the follow-up to 2024’s No Obligation, the group’s sophomore album for indie Epitaph. The Linda Lindas will support it on the road this fall during a West Coast run opening for Bleachers and will also appear at Tom Morello’s Power to the People Festival on Oct. 3 in Columbia, Md.