In our post-album existence, playlists rule the world. With the rise in streaming services like Spotify and the recently announced Apple Musice, it’s practically good business for an artist to write songs aimed specifically for the heart of your beloved “Summer BBQ Mix” or “Workout Jams” playlists. Shit, Spotify even spies on your lists to better determine which ads they should blast upon your eyeballs and into your ear canals.
This doesn’t bode well for a band like St. Pete's Permanent Makeup, and that’s probably just the way they like it.
Their latest track “Weak In The Knees” is a two-and-a-half-minute middle finger to the notion of playing nice for the playlist-pumping masses. The bassline rips in a rapid-fire flurry of minor notes. The guitar jangles like a lug nut-less Lebaron lurching down the highway. The vocals scream like David Byrne on a bed of hot coals and the drums pummel a path with a controlled intensity that keeps “Weak In The Knees” right on the edge of complete audible chaos.
It ain’t for everyone, and that’s kind of the point. Listen, love it, or loathe it over at Magnet Magazine, and pre-order their sophomore full length Taker, due out August 21 via Tampa’s own New Granada Records.