“Fucking up your mascara is a kind of revolutionary act when society expects women/feminine presenting people to be “pretty” all the time.”
This quote from LA-based Flamango Bay’s Ikaika Gunderson is a powerful summary of the message behind the band’s new single ‘Mascara’:
“In 6th grade I started both crying less and wearing makeup more. A part of me knew that there was a correlation. I started wearing mascara so that I would stop rubbing my sensitive watery eyes. I found that this was a funny metaphor for the fact that I used hyper femininity to hide my trans-masc identity; both from myself and others. Mascara acted as a wall between me and my sensitive nature, blocking a stereotypically feminine part of me with make-up, another stereotypically feminine thing.
“Though I wrote this song while I was out as non-binary, I had not let go of this deeply ingrained idea that pretty meant worth. Fucking up your mascara is a kind of revolutionary act when society expects women/feminine presenting people to be “pretty” all the time. For me, it was one of the first parts of accepting my gender. I was performing femininity so well for so long while simultaneously getting more and more disgusted with myself. Removing what society expected of me and seeing this distorted fucked up image in the mirror was both terrifying and exhilarating. Seeing myself with raccoon eyes and black tears feels better than seeing myself with “nice” makeup.” – Ikaika Gunderson on “Mascara”
‘Mascara’ has a gritty lilt with stop-start passages, a pinch of laid-back mixed in with the fuzzy energy, and there’s a sweet-sweet tune punching its way out from overdriven guitar of the chorus. This is a sub-3-minute glorious celebration of how something as simple as roughly applied mascara can actually be a defence, a challenge and a subversion of societal norms. On your face and in your face.
‘Mascara’ is the title track from their forthcoming EP Mascara which is released through the Moshi Moshi label on 22 March and available to pre-order now.
Flamango Bay are Ikaika Gunderson and Georgia Manou on guitar and vocals and Dash Goss-Post on drums.
Flamango Bay socials: Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | X (Twitter)
Moshi Moshi socials: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Website
MASCARA LYRICS
I get made up just to see how pretty I get when I cry
Under eyes are where the soul is
My poor worn out chewed up Invisalign
I lie and I lie just to hide from where the truth is
I’m happy all the time
Turn up the overdrive
There’s nothing hotter than a bitch who knows they’re out of line
Make me a work of art
I’ll tell you when to start
I’m in control of my face
Everywhere you go you bring a storm you’re never warm
Your home is like a cave and your body can’t be saved and
Mascara’s only thing that covers what you see
I can’t cry and look at you, you can cry and look at me
If I just go to every possible extreme
Than I can’t find the truth of who I wanna be
If I just bite the bullet, sleep til I’m dead
Then I’ll smear red paint, bite my lips until they’re red
I’m happy all the time
Turn up the overdrive
There’s nothing hotter than a bitch who knows they’re out of time
Make me a work of art
I’ll tell you when to start
I’m in control of my (Mia the dog barks)
Everywhere you go you bring a storm you’re never warm
Your home is like a cave and your body can’t be saved and
Mascara’s only thing that covers what you see
I can’t cry and look at you, you can cry and look at me
I wanna see those tears when you look my direction
Every look in the mirror is a look in my fears and
Everywhere you go you bring a storm you’re never warm
Your home is like a cave and your body can’t be saved and
Mascara’s only thing that covers what you see
I can’t cry and look at you, you can cry and look at me
Review by Paul F Cook
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