Local Band of the Week: Permanent Makeup

BY JORDAN WALSH

Let’s get angry. Tampa band Permanent Makeup is playing a show at New World Brewery on Sunday, Feb 21. A rough-around-the-edges, constantly rumbling punk rock trio, Permanent Makeup is here to voice concerns about the terrifying world around us. And this sort of dire catharsis has never been so fun to listen to.

If you’re looking to get out of the house on Sunday and get angry, the band’s latest LP Taker, which came out on local label New Granada last year, is available for streaming and purchase on Bandcamp. The album is a DIY project through and through, a piece of work put together in the comfort of the artists’ own homes, although it’s hard to call any of these songs “comfortable.” Taker is anything but easy listening, but songs like “Weak In The Knees” and “Not Binary” get to the very core of punk rock’s origins. They’re simple, blunt songs that pull no punches when it comes to personal and political accountability (“Not Binary” literally chants “coward!” over and over in one section).

While Permanent Makeup’s primary language is that of power and screaming, songs like “Blot Out The Sun” take a comparatively more nuanced and ambient position. Here, the post-rock influence is heard as a wall of guitar-noodling pushes forward lines like “my face is melting off/ my brains turn to mush.”

Composed of Tampa natives Susan Dickson on drums, Chris Nadeau on bass, and James Bess on guitars, Permanent Makeup is perfect for fans of early Sonic Youth or Hüsker Dü. There’s no need to have a punk education to enjoy the band, though; Taker is a great peek into the burgeoning and eclectic Tampa music scene.

Tickets to Sunday’s show are available for $9 on ticketfly.com.

Jordan Walsh can be reached at jordan.walsh@theminaretonline.com.

Leave a Reply

Back To Top