“Bloodsuckers! Who the fuck are you?”
Self-described ‘disgusting rock band’ Saint Agnes are a self-produced quartet formed by vocalist Kitty A. Austen, guitarist Jon James Tufnell, drummer Andy Head and bassist Ben Chernitsky. The ethos behind Saint Agnes as artists is to seriously push the boundaries of conformity, both musically and aesthetically, and their sophomore album Bloodsuckers is certainly demonstrative of that. Whilst their commitment to such a statement is certainly admirable, the approach of ‘picturing the world the music exists in and that informing the song rather than the nuts and bolts of the music’ has failed to reach the hard-hitting and evocative heights the philosophy shoots for.
Bloodsuckers makes you sit up and listen; it cannot be accused of fading into the background. Unfortunately, it is not always for the right reasons. The record, in part, seems to be aiming for ‘shock value’ rather than musical prowess, which is demonstrated well in the first three tracks. It would be a very short and lethal drinking game for all concerned if you were to imbibe each time ‘motherfuckers/fuck’ is said within those 11 minutes. The title track can be forgiven for its abrasive style and somewhat lazy lyrics as an ‘introduction’ if it were not for the fact that it is followed by two similar, equally ineffective, tracks.
“Animals” offers a brief hope of more, with a groovy bass line and solid drum riff building potential, but it ultimately falls flat. The track would benefit strongly from a good break of some description, simply to break the repetition. “I Mean Nothing To You” leaves a similar taste and is equally unremarkable, although it is somewhat more fundamentally cohesive than the previous two offerings. It is quite evident that the musicality on this track has been given more consideration than the aforementioned shock tactic, and a chunky bass riff in the final minute is greatly appreciated.
“Outsider” demonstrates what Saint Agnes can be capable of, and it is a route they should continue to explore. It’s vocally stronger and sounds within a much more comfortable range for Austen, allowing the richness in her tone to shine through and inject some much need sincerity into the music. Whilst it is brave to explore her vocal range as she does throughout the record, it often feel incredibly forced at times, to its detriment. Keeping things simple and honest appears to be Saint Agnes‘ potential recipe for success. Alongside this, the strings in “Outsider” are more melodic, bringing something tangible and considered into the fray rather than noise and abrasion.
“This Is Not The End” is the ballad of the album, showcasing Austen’s voice in its best range. The production, however, is somewhat unnecessarily clipped and takes away from the ebb and flow of the song. It’s distracting, and with lilting keys in the background overridden by the clipping it fails to reach its full potential as the beautiful track that it could be. “Follow You“, “Middle Finger” and “Body Bag” (featuring Mimi Barks) revert to a similar format and construction as the first three tracks, and as such are again unremarkable overall. “I Am“, a notable step up in quality, only serves to make its predecessor “Follow You” look weaker. It benefits from better musicianship, particularly from the halfway mark, and the song does in fact ‘go somewhere,’ with some good fills from Head and down-tuned riffs from Chernitsky giving an almost ‘catchy’ chorus for the first time on Bloodsuckers.
“At War With Myself” starts well and the sentiment is certainly palpable throughout. Saint Agnes cannot be accused of failing to get the sentiment across here. However, it would be strongly improved by being half the length that it is; the ‘radio recommended’ three minutes would’ve been plenty. “Forever And Ever” rounds the record off and well, at least they saved one of the best of this album for last. The tempo changes offer gradient and weight and are made the most of. The opportunity to add different textures and layers as the song progresses is used well, before leading to a promising crescendo which unfortunately fades away instead of bringing the massive break you naturally want. Maybe next time.
Saint Agnes have made it clear that they intend to be ‘a spanner in the works,’ and at times on this record it works well. There are undoubtedly moments of promise. However, the need to be disruptive and confrontational often feels angsty, disingenuous, and downright gratuitous. It’s in these moments that the relatability of ‘not fitting in’ is lost, coming across as a somewhat desperate attempt to be seen rather than a concerted effort to bring the listener ‘along for the ride.’ There can be no doubt that Saint Agnes have plenty of potential to make their mark, but Bloodsuckers doesn’t quite get the job done this time.
Bloodsuckers is set for release via the band’s own label, Death Or Glory Gang, on July 21st.
4.5/10