While many punk bands remain concentrated on sloppy speed and energy, Arizona’s Lovesick Saints pursue the genre with a clean and
polished sound. “War Story” is a grim tale about, you guessed it, fighting in war. Lovesick Saints push the usual punk staples (fast guitar melodies and abrasive singing) to tell a story about soldiers and their families. These instruments’ mix is completely audible as both distorted guitars are crisp and distinguishable.
Although the sound quality is a success and singer Tom Holiday has a strong voice, the songwriting feels a little half-baked. Firstly, Holiday cheats on rhyme scheme a few times and it’s noticeable. Rather than choosing different words to make lines rhyme, he opts to use the same word consecutive times (rhyming “now” with “now”, “too” with “too”). One time is excusable, but three times feels a bit lazy. But aside from that, the song’s point doesn’t seem to flesh itself out.
The entire track tells stories about soldiers fighting in a war and their heartbroken families waiting at home. The tone is appropriately dramatic and sad, as is the subject of young men at war. The language is pretty passive, but it seems to be going for an anti-war stance as it draws attention to men dying and the sacrifices they’ve made to serve. But in the last verse, Holiday praises the soldiers:
Our grandfathers fought for what we have today
They gave up so much and for that I say thanks
The mothers with no sons and those with no dads
I thank god for heroes my heart’s in your hands
After hearing this, I was confused on what the song’s purpose was. I had to read the info section to learn that this is a genuine praise to soldiers. Therefore, I find the overall tone to be ambivalent. This last verse of heroism just doesn’t line up with its previous message. I would recommend that Lovesick Saints try to establish their song’s purpose at the beginning of each writing session. They have the audio down, they just need to polish their ideas and make their point known.
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Bio:
Born in 2007 in Chandler Az, Lovesick Saints was a formation of Tom Holliday on guitar/vocals, his brother Davy Joe on bass/vocals and Sun Yun on drums. Initially mixing the old skool country sound with old skool punk rock, Lss eventually evolved into the rhythm-driven Alt-punk rock sound it is today. Although heavily influenced by early punk pioneers such as the Ramones and the Clash, Lss continues to push forward, incorporating fundamental punk music principles with messages from life’s ups and downs of today.
Christian Howell joined the project in 2010 when Sun departed ways and moved to California to pursue another career. Possessing similar musical interests and undeniable dedication, Lss was honored to welcome the new punk rocker to the line up with his undeniable rhythm capabilities. When Davy Joe left the band for personal reasons in 2012, thats when Tom turned to long time friend and fellow musician Jarrod Olson. Having worked with Jarrod on an earlier project years ago, Tom knew he would be a perfect fit. With Jarrod’s unrelenting grunge-era bass technique, this Seattle-born musician was exactly what the band needed to complete it’s line up.
Lovesick Saints has played numerous venues in the Maricopa county area of AZ and looks forward to expanding its sound outside the borders of its home state. The band has released 4 studio EPs: The Punk Rock Honky Tonk, Resurwreckshun, Outside Looking In and its recent “Dia de los Muertos” EP was released in June 2013.
Websites:
Official: http://lovesicksaints.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lovesick-Saints/190686364288108
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LovesickSaints
Music video links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVmEPUYu62Y
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lovesicksaints
