“It’s OK to punch Nazis.”

There, somebody had to say it. And Cheap Perfume did just that (in song) back in 2019.

Cheap Perfume — not to be confused with the all-female NYC punk band from the late 1970s — is a feminist punk-rock band that grew its spiked fists in Colorado Springs in 2015.

They’re fun. They’re angry. They’re dirty, foul-mouthed and unapologetic. Just ask them. Better yet, ask Gregg Deal, an unapologetic fan and lead singer of the unapologetic Colorado band the Dead Pioneers.

“I have a child who found Cheap Perfume before I did, and that band helped shape them into the person that they are,” Deal said. “So I got to see how strong feminine and political voices can affect young people from the very beginning. That gives me a lot of love for them — beside the fact that they are just a fantastic band.”

Cheap Perfume explores topics of equality, sex, relationships, violence and politics through lyrics written by singers Jane No and Stephanie Byrne, along with drummer David Grimm and bass player Geoff Brent. (Brent is also the owner of live-music venues The Black Sheep and Vultures in Colorado Springs — and a concert promoter for Live Nation.)

There’s a pretty succinct intro to the band on the Vultures website that goes like so:

“Stephanie’s shout-singing and aggressive stage presence drive live performances that excite and empower audiences. While playing her loud, fuzzy electric guitar, Jane sings catchy melodies that complement Stephanie’s sass talk. Hot Dave’s drumming and Geoff’s powerful bass lines deliver straight-up punk rock that’s influenced by riot grrrl, pop and metal.”

They spare no one in their lyrics. Not Donald Trump. Not homophobes. Not Milo Yiannopoulos. These women have no time to waste with minced words:

“We’ve had to say a lot of stuff we thought was (expletive) obvious, like, ‘Yes, It’s OK to punch Nazis.’”

And they say it with a sense of humor.

Their breakout single from 2016, “Dogs Against Dog Hollerin’,” explores what it would be like if women talked to men the way men talked to women. “Slut Game Strong” celebrates a woman’s freedom to be promiscuous “despite the societal double standard.”

At an alarming moment in time when free speech is becoming more selectively permitted by the day, “Cheap Perfume are articulating everything the way that it needs to be articulated right now,” Deal said.

“I think the music industry tends to be really male-heavy, so I do love a good, strong female voice — and Cheap Perfume is absolutely that. There’s a real power in their words.”

John Moore is The Denver Gazette’s senior arts journalist.