Sainte Catherines - Dancing For Decadance

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 26 / 3 / 2006

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Review

The Sainte Catherines are one of Canada’s hottest punk exports at the minute. They were picked up by US punk rock legend and all around goof-ball turned political activist Fat Mike of NOFX. With that knowledge it comes as no surprise that the Sainte Catherines were snapped up by Fat Mike's label Fat Wreck. The Sainte Catherines are one of an increasing number of new punk rock bands that are very much in tune with the origins of punk music, and are doing their best to keep the scene thriving. These bands are playing hard, fast, aggressive music with a social conscience rather than some of the more self-obsessed punk rock bands that have been spawned in recent years. Bands like the Sainte Catherines are proving again that punk is well and truly not dead. Other bands such as Against Me, Sinkin’ Ships and Pink Punk are all bands that are showing that the only people who could believe that real punk is dead are people that are just too lazy to see past MTV and all it affiliates. The Sainte Catherines have come kicking and screaming out of Montreal, naming themselves after one of the less attractive areas of the city. Their sound is above all loud, making full use of the three guitarists the band boast. Singer Hugo, (come on, you couldn’t be more French than a guy called Hugo could you?) lends his gruff and heartfelt vocals to the mix to make punk rock songs that sound just like they were meant to. All the members of the band are still doing regular jobs, including being a janitor, record shop assistant, and a full-time Greenpeace employee. Now that is punk. No hanging around in coffee shops after recording sessions. No sir, it’s back to the office for these guys…or back to the toilets for some of them. This just fuels the punk feel to this band. They really believe in the live live punk rock attitude and clearly aren’t afraid of working really hard for it. Although the band are hardcore punks they also clearly have one element which may also have led to them being picked up by Fat Mike. A sense of humour. These guys aren’t sitting around moping. They are also having fun while raising a little punk-fuelled Hell. Whether the songs are serious or not, you know a band with song titles such as 'Ring of Fire = 4 points', 'The International Badminton Championship', 'La P’tite Grise vs Jeff' and 'The Shape of Drunks to Come' has to have a sense of humour. The fact that the band also has a side project dealing in the fine art of Country Western music, ('Yesterday’s Ring'), only seals this idea. These guys are weird, funny and are the real deal as far as punk rock goes. Do yourselves a favour and go catch them when they tour with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes across Europe. If nothing else it could be a good chance to wheel out that high school French we’re all dying to use again.

Track Listing:-

1 Burn Guelph Burn
2 Ring of Fire = 4 Points
3 Confession of a Revolutionary Bourgeois, Pt. 3
4 Get Your Politics out of My Hair
5 Hau Weg Die Scheisse
6 Emo-Ti-Coms: Punk Rock Experts
7 The Shape of Drunks to Come
8 I'd Rather Be Part of the Dying Bungee Scene
9 Us Against the Music
10 If There's Black Smoke over a Bridge, It's Over
11 The International Badminton Championship: La P'tite Grise vs. Jef
12 Track and Field Style