Joudy - Permanent Maintenance

FAR OUT MAGAZINE “Drop-tuned basslines and an endearingly moody atmosphere help the new single from Venezuela-formed, New York-based outfit Joudy stand out…”

GOOD CALL MUSIC “After leaving Venezuela amid political unrest and eventually rebuilding in NYC, the band has carved out a sound rooted in urgency and emotional weight, each release pushing them further into darker, more volatile territory.”

NYS MUSIC “What truly sets Joudy apart is their ability to channel deep emotional strain, which is on full display in this single.”

TURN & WORK “‘Nail’ is the kinetic, beastly barnburner first single from their upcoming record Permanent Maintenance.”

CARRY THE ZERO “Frenetic and immediately demands your attention.”

JAMMERZINE “It pulses, it broods, it builds, and it leaves you with that satisfying sense that you just experienced something crafted rather than manufactured.”

Brooklyn via Venezuela, Joudy release their unvarnished and love-torn album Permanent Maintenance on Trash Casual. Set aside, for now, are the evocative lyrics and lush soundscapes of their earlier releases. In their place, lyrical and sonic directness is embraced, finding Joudy distilling their soaring rock into something heavier, hot-blooded and cathartic — Stream.

Taking their album title from a mechanic shop of the same name, there is a throughline of machine-made elements across the record. Frontman Diego Ramirez recognized he had existed in survival mode for so long, this album was the first time he stopped to process. Mirrored by a political climate that banks on our constant burnout, Permanent Maintenance is a record of personal stories that reach across an entire society.

“‘Permanent Maintenance’ is about accepting that we’re never finished—that healing, love, resistance, and self-discovery are all part of a lifelong process of becoming,” says Ramirez.

Originally formed in their hometown of San Cristobal, Venezuela, in the mid 2010s, before the band members fled the intense political climate that was brewing in their home nation, Joudy’s journey has taken a long road from from South America to the east coast of the United States. “A frustrated dream that we’ve carried for years” is how Ramirez refers to it. The band is rounded out by Hulrich Navas (drums) and Carlos Rey (bass).

Across Permanent Maintenance Joudy leaves little room for nuanced interpretation on these songs that recount a relationship on the brink. Lines like “do what you’re gonna do, come, I’m not fucking scared” (“Bow”) or “we are in perfect danger” (“Three Dollar Bill”) drip with unfilterted sentiment and seethe on top of the gritty hooks that pack the record.

Joudy have always tried to make sense of “this messy universe,” and while the wide angle lens fantasies of their previous albums sought to do that through grand expositions, Permanent Maintenance brings the narrative down to that most acute of human experiences, to love and to lose.

“Pain is a fine knife sharpened by love,” Ramirez concludes with emotional clarity on the band’s most vital, intense, era yet.

After performing at SXSW back in March, and playing a string of shows across the state of Florida, Joudy are now out on their album release tour. Kicking things off with a hometown album release show at TV Eye in Brooklyn earlier this week, Dead Tooth, Desert Sharks and Dawglet joined the band for a celebratory night See all upcoming tour dates here and contact us with any requests!