It’s hard not to be in awe of the crowd at a Pet Lizard show. Fans of the Tampa rock outfit seem to know all the words and can sing them without missing a breath despite the swirl of bodies moshing and jumping around them. And while the gigs feel like celebrations, the band’s debut LP is a little more like a confessional where guitarists Nick Winston and Jamie Perez put a pandemic’s worth of intrusive thoughts to tape in punchy, punky fashion. There are regrettable tattoos in the tracklist, sure, but also lines about lying to your therapist, loneliness and self-care, too. @petlizard813 on Instagram—Ray Roa
This article appears in Best of The Bay 2024.
