Random Records with Steve O

The Sainte Catherines - Fire Works

So the next Random Record is the last one released by Montreal’s the Sainte Catherines. Fire Works was released in 2010, while the Sainte Catherines called it quits in 2012. Their full length prior to this one, was 2006’s Dancing For Decadence, released on Fat Wreck Chords. I stumbled across it at Record Breakers, before they moved to the city, I thought it looked cool and the fact that it was released by Fat Wreck was all the convincing I needed. That ended up being a great decision, as Dancing For Decadence is fucking amazing and definitely one of my favorite records of any genre. But I’m not gonna rave about that record here. I’m gonna talk about the follow up, which I had huge expectations for…

…Only to be let down. I was totally bummed the first time I heard Fire Works. Dancing For Decadence was this blazing fast, catchy punk record. Fire Works slowed down and didn’t seem very catchy. Yeah, there were some good songs and it has Hugo Mudie’s awesome gravel voice, but it wasn’t like Dancing For Decadence, which didn’t have a bad song on it. But I persisted and kept giving another try after another try. And it took a while, but I came to love Fire Works for what it was. Some of the songs on here have become my favorite Sainte Catherines songs (i.e. “No Friends,” “Reinventing Ron Hextall (I Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye),” and “D’You Guys Wanna Fuckin’ Party After This? No.”). They seem much more heartfelt, more meaningful, more sincere. More hockey references! Both of these are records I still listen to regularly.

Occasionally I’ll use Random Records to talk about bands that I think are criminally underrated. The Sainte Catherines are one of them and I’m not sure why. Check out this video of “Reinventing Ron Hextall (I Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye)” from their last show:

If there’s ever a reunion, I’m going to Montreal to be there. Here’s full video of their last show in Montreal.

Hugo (vocals) and Fred (guitar) are now doing acoustic stuff under the name Miracles. Check them out on bandcamp.