One of the best indicators of rating how good a band is is if you can feel your heart pounding as you listen to them. Your adrenaline is pumping, you're shouting alongside the music trying to keep up, and all you really want to do is grab onto something and hold on because, for all you know, you're on a runaway train that's more than likely going to crash violently. Personally, this is the best feeling I can get from listening to music, and this was my first reaction to hearing Sink|Swim.
I saw Permanent a few months ago with Modern Life is War and I had never heard of them before that night. They were never announced on the lineup before the show, but when I got there all I could hear was "Holy shit, Permanent is playing." After seeing Permanent's set, I honestly didn't know what all the hype was about. They were decent, but nothing really that memorable, and they quickly exited my memory. Then I saw Sink|Swim had been released, and wanted to give the band a second chance. I'm glad I did.
For those unfamiliar with the band, Permanent plays a fast style of hardcore punk and features members of bands like Bracewar and Hold Me Back. Hailing from the music hotbed of Richmond, Virginia, Permanent is a band that up to this point has been anything but. Since forming in late 2004, the band has gone through 4 different lineup changes, but now it seems as if the band is committed to a fixed lineup as a four piece.
The theme of Sink|Swim is quite simple: growing up sucks and we must do everything we can to hold onto our youth. Nowhere is this better seen than in the album's first and possibly best track, "Void of Course." With the vocals seemingly being played on fast-forward during different points of the song, the band sings:
I know we may be wasting our days, but we're wasting them knowing that in years our dreams can change. And if nothing else, I want these stories to be more important than the burden of responsibilities...if even for a minute.
The rest of the album stays mainly on the same path, with fast vocals verging on yelling and spoken word reminiscent of Reds, with music that accompanies the vocals nicely. While Permanent is a hardcore band at its root, the music isn't afraid to go in different directions, as acoustic guitars are used sparingly, as well as a jazz funk ending to the song "Sidestepping."
Permanent is a band that has come quite a long way in two years, from band lineup changes and trying to resist surrendering their youth to the real world, to releasing Sink|Swim and going on their first Westcoast tour to support the record. Despite all of this, none of it really matters once you start listening to Sink|Swim. Once you feel your heart pumping in your chest, all you can do is listen and hold on.
