Pop punk and punk revival, including hardcore punk, both have their positive sides, but when it comes down to the tenacity of punk music, pop punk will always lose in a fistfight. But what happens when a pop punk band attempts the anger and lack of security that comes with the fury of punk revival?
The Sainte Catherines have released their first album "Dancing for Decadence." As much as the band attempts, it fails to live up to its counterparts in the current surge of harsh, violent punk.
The band does give it an honest go with rapid guitar chords, coarse vocals, and heavy drums and they have all the elements necessary for punk revival. Yet, they fail to get the blood flowing. They lack the ability to create any sort of cathartic rush through their supposed anger.
The Sainte Catherines sound like Hot Water Music, but more crude. They may not be as decorated as Blink 182 or the later Green Day, but The Sainte Catherines' music is still subdued, even in the yelling.
Essentially, The Sainte Catherines is a pop version of bands such as Leftover Crack and the Subhumans. If the Sainte Catherines were to get into a fight with Leftover Crack, Leftover Crack would win very easily.
Though they do boast their share of hostile lyrics in "Get Your Politics Out of My Hair."
"You've been talking all week about sleeping/ We've been talking all week about destroying/ You've been talking all week about nothing," sings Hugo, the band's vocalist.
So what happens when a pop punk band attempts to be a punk revival band? It apparently fails, but at least the band is up to date with their scene, which is more than what can be said about artists like KT Tunstall.
As Jack Terricloth of World/Inferno Friendship Society puts it, "I'm a bit old-fashioned, it's one of my shortcomings 'cause tradition is nothing but orthodoxy and death, but, well, these things are all very attractive."
Punk rock is an elusive genre, and who is to say a style within punk rock is bad? It's just that some mixes of style aren't spectacular.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
