D-Beat hardcore is becoming a quite liked genre even outside of the shower-once-a-month hardcore cretins. Hell even one those little pukes in From First to Last was recently seen in a Tragedy shirt in a promo photo for their latest album entitled I Killed my Girlfriend with my Spiky $500 Dollar Haircut and then Pouted about it. D-Beat hardcore, for those out of the loop, stands for downbeat hardcore where the guitar and bass are tuned down to lowest possible tuning without hitting that note that makes you shit yourself. The drumming in d-beat type hardcore is an all out assault on the skins and usually as fast as possible unless a gut slamming slow part that makes one feel like being pulled through a vat of Elmer's glue and molasses. When done right d-beat hardcore feels like an eighteen-wheeler blasted from hell and aiming straight for you to claim your soul and your soap.
The one problem with d-beat hardcore is it isn't the most digestible type of music out there. You aren't going to find yourself humming the hits from His Hero is Gone and From Ashes Rise any time soon. So one day I was thinking what if there as d-beat band that was more listener friendly, something the whole family could listen while playing Uno or knitting dollies. Then just by happenstance the new disc from The Sainte Catherines arrives in my mailbox and all my catchy d-beat prayers are answered. Amen, Fat Mike. Okay so Montreal's The Sainte Catherines aren't the dirtiest dirtballs out there, but they look bedraggled enough to be charmingly punk. Also, everything on Dancing for Decadence isn't downtuned to poopy pants type rumbling but it's still rhythmic enough that you could still feel it in your bones. The drumming is breakneck and thundering, but not apocalyptic. The eighteen-wheeler of certain death and dismemberment is transformed into a Dodge Dart filled with flaming shitbags of fun.
Dancing for Decadence is twelve tracks of fun middle-fingered response melodic d-beat hardcore, without the doom and gloom, mixed with the gruffness of Hot Water Music or Leatherface. It works surprisingly well and the listener gets a decent if not fun romp with a tongue placed firmly within their cheeks. A drunken sense of humor helps these songs tackle the topics of scene politics, drinking, and other nuances of life with sarcastic song titles like "I'd Rather be Part of the Dying Bungee Scene" and "Shape of Drunks to Come."
Dancing for Decadence is great record for those days you want to be smelly and crusty without offending the opposite sex or anyone else on public transportation. It's fast, it's furious and it's catchy as all hell. You may not be snapping your fingers along to anything from From Ashes Rise's Nightmares any time soon, but you will definitely find yourself singing along to this album in no time.
