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The Sainte Catherines

The Soda Machine [CD/DVD]
2008
Indica/Outside

The Sainte Catherines - The Soda Machine [CD/DVD] (Cover Artwork)

Review by: SloaneDaley
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Published on June 24th 2008

The liner notes to The Soda Machine state that "If you like this record it is probably because you were there when nobody else was." It just so happens that this release combines two things that are usually relegated as “for the fans” material: the band DVD and the odds ‘n ends collection. So I figure that while usually being an avid fan of a band makes unbiased reviewing harder, I think in cases like this it is rather essential because the material found within is intentionally for the already converted.

The CD portion of the collection contains a whopping 25 songs spanning the band's entire career from their early demos to outtakes from their most recent Fat Wreck release, Dancing for Decadence. “Still Not Getting Any…Credibility” starts things off proving once again that these guys enjoy taking jabs at Montreal pop-rockers Simple Plan. The song is decent but doesn’t really stand out too much, so it was understandable that it was cut, but the next number “Theme Song for Another Brown Tuesday” is the real head-scratcher. It is a really catchy and melodic number compared to the rest of Dancing for Decadence and would have added some welcomed variety. Hugo mentions it reminding him of Lifetime in the liner notes and I wouldn’t say that influence is far off. One of the more interesting songs on the collection comes in the form of “The Unforgiven 3 (Best Song Ever).” It is an acoustic song recorded for a comp that never came out and you’d think it might sound like a Yesterday’s Ring tune, but not at all. Hugo says how they wanted to do a big ballad like Skid Row or Mötley Crüe for fun and they sort of pull it off (they even have a big electric solo in the middle of the song).

If you already own all the band’s vinyl, this may seem kind of redundant because the 7” splits with Whiskey Sunday and Fifth Hour Hero are represented as well as the 12” EP, The Machine Gets Under Way. Either way it is nice to have digital copies of those songs and the band has included some unreleased songs from those sessions, so if you haven’t heard those albums the unreleased songs are given a better context.

One downside to the collection is that the final two songs included are from the band’s first album, Those Stars Are for You. Not that they are bad songs, far from it, the problem is that the whole album is long OOP and not easy to track down and it would have made more sense to include the whole thing instead of some of the vinyl and comp tracks that are still in print.

The DVD splits live footage from the band’s 500th celebration show in their hometown of Montreal in between interviews with current and former members of the band, road footage of the band, other band personalities such as Brendan and Neil of the Lawrence Arms, Fat Mike, Malcolm Bauld, Chicken of Dead to Me / Western Addiction, Against Me! and Fifth Hour Hero. The DVD really gets into the personality of the band and you can see the sense of humour behind their often ridiculous song titles in the joking sexual exploits of their underage former drummer and a particular funny story where Against Me! gets into a fight with members of a club in Guelph, Ontario when the DJ calls the hip-hop duo Outkast fags upon a song request and Tom “The Table” Gable proceeds to attempt to beat the ignorance out of said DJ. But it isn’t all humour, as you get to see the progression of the band in a personal way when the band explains that when they started out, vocalist Hugo was hated by the crowd and wasn’t friendly at all, but now when you go to their shows you’ll find him to be one of the friendliest band folk around. The exiting of a former guitarist is explained because he wanted his guitar sound to be played cleanly and you can see when he leaves the band how their sound shifts from a Midwest emo-meets-hardcore sound (i.e. Split Lip / Chamberlain) to the somewhat HWMish post-hardcore found on their latest full-length. The movie portion is also playable in French Canadian for all you Francophones and there is a music video portion of the DVD containing all the band’s music videos.

Whether you call it pop, soda or soda pop, the Sainte Catherines have provided a band DVD that is wonderfully filmed and is both insightful and entertaining (WARNING: there is some full frontal nudity, so it could also be arousing depending on your predilections toward penis -- French Canadian penis!). To top it all off it is beautifully packaged with in-depth liner notes. The music portion is expansive and almost always a decent listen at the very least that should hold fans over ‘til the next record, which might be a ways off with a new Yesterday’s Ring album in the works and according to Hugo only about one new Sainte Catherines song written.

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Posted by AgainstWhat on 2009-03-03 11:53:07
My Score:

This band is comprised of Solid, Genuine, Individuals. And on top of it they write some of the best Music coming out of our country (canada) to date! If you're into punk with melodic roots then this band is right up your ally.

Posted by Nevermind on 2008-06-27 12:31:56

good stuff!

Posted by 1234go on 2008-06-26 16:00:49

Dude's not fucking around, he loves that story. Strangely enough his version includes little about AM! and a lot about heshers and cops.
-Dante

All good stories do!

Posted by SloaneDaley on 2008-06-26 13:25:27

yeah no hard feelings here I probably shouldn't have reduced the tale like that and made tom look like an overtly violent vigilante type as I'm sure it was quite a story and if I ever make it out to California I'll hunt you down yell something about this review which you'll likely remember nothing of and force you to tell me the whole story with beer.

Posted by Dante3000 on 2008-06-26 13:10:50

I was with them at that show in Guelph and Tom didn't try to beat anything out of anyone. He was attacked first by another guy (some dude who worked at the club not the DJ) and then all hell broke loose between Us (Me, Against Me! and the Sainte Catherines) and the security at the club. It's one of my favorite stories to tell. Buy me a beer and I'll tell you the whole thing.

Dude's not fucking around, he loves that story. Strangely enough his version includes little about AM! and a lot about heshers and cops.
-Dante

Posted by 1234go on 2008-06-26 12:38:39

I know Tom wouldn't beat anyone, it was a joke mostly that is why I called him "The Table".

I'm not mad or anything. It's just not how it went down and sort of paints Tom as kind of punch happy when you team it up with "the table" comment. Anyway...the Sainte Catherines are amazing!

Posted by SloaneDaley on 2008-06-26 10:30:14

I was with them at that show in Guelph and Tom didn't try to beat anything out of anyone. He was attacked first by another guy (some dude who worked at the club not the DJ) and then all hell broke loose between Us (Me, Against Me! and the Sainte Catherines) and the security at the club. It's one of my favorite stories to tell. Buy me a beer and I'll tell you the whole thing.

I know Tom wouldn't beat anyone, it was a joke mostly that is why I called him "The Table".

Posted by 1234go on 2008-06-26 10:13:38

Posted by boxcar on 2008-06-26 06:10:36

Great Band, think I have to get that one...actually you can still get "Those Stars are for You" on vinyl here: http://www.yoyorecords.de/

Posted by Dougie on 2008-06-25 15:56:58
My Score:

Great stuff

can't wait to see them live again

Posted by misterspike on 2008-06-25 15:00:29

...and Tom “The Table” Gable proceeds to attempt to beat the ignorance out of said DJ

And my coworkers ask why I laugh out loud.

Posted by PaC on 2008-06-25 13:35:22

The cover of the Three Penny Opera song makes buying this cd worth every cent. Also worth buying: the Three Penny Opera cd.

Posted by SloaneDaley on 2008-06-25 10:51:05

I'm totally just going to go buy this now. Sainte Catherines are one of my favourite bands ever. I don't own the machine gets under way or the fifth hour hero split (yet) so this seems like a good enough reason as any. I need a UK tour also!

You can also get Those Stars Under Way from Yoyo records in Germany:

dude The Machine Gets Under Way is some of their best material, you need this, and thanks for the heads up on Yo Yo I know they did the eurp pressing of it I just figured it was OOP like the North American version.

Posted by ejaculine on 2008-06-25 09:19:16
My Score:

My band just played a show with the Sainte Catherines last weekend in Montebello. They put on a really awesome show, and for some reason, the singer was adamant of informing us that it was the summer solstice.

Posted by HumanUnkind on 2008-06-25 08:10:50
My Score:

Posted by Scruffy on 2008-06-25 00:13:18

I found Those Stars Are For You for like four bucks last year at the record store. Is it really that rare? Cool.

Posted by mr_fub on 2008-06-24 21:49:45
My Score:

Love the music part, but the DVD (as with every film of this sort I have ever seen) is weak and probably will never be seen again. It is worth buying though for the cd part, as it kicks ass.

Posted by PapaMurphy on 2008-06-24 14:29:12
My Score:

Both the CD and DVD are great.

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