Saint Clementine are a three-piece indie rock band from Madrid. They have recently released two of their EPs on a single tape, courtesy of Slovakian cassette super label / big happy family Z Tapes. In fact, true Z Tapes fans will recognise Lucas from the band as the man behind Unlove, another Z Tapes alumni.
Saint Clementine make what they describe as, “powerful tunes…about the end of the summer, complex relationships and teenage anxiety at our twenties”. The first EP, If We Are Falling, opens with ‘Hell Your Home, Death My Bedroom’, which proves a good introduction to the spiky and catchy punk rock that Saint Clementine deal in. Both ‘Tossing & Turning’ and ‘Sunday Night Crisis’ have the scrappy and angular breakneck pace of classic punk, producing something gloriously messy and fun.
“It’s so cool to feel alone
when you’re not on your own
toss and turn, you’re sore, you’re burnt
and there’s no way that you are happy “
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Despite the influences, Saint Clementine lack that raw-throated caustic nature of a lot of punk bands, meaning their sound is more accurately described as power pop or simply noisy indie rock. The vocals are relatively melodic, the lyrics not as impossible to decipher as those of many similar bands, meaning we get the best of both worlds – punk energy and understandable, related words.
The second EP, I Wish I Knew What You Did Last Summer, opens with ‘Fake a Smile’, a lean and catchy song which sees rumbling indie rock teamed with dreamy cooing background vocals. ‘Crystal Cassels’ is tinged with an emo heaviness, while ‘The I Can’t Get Over You Blues’ does exactly what it says in the tin, a song about falling for someone you don’t even like. Saint Clementine channel The Smiths on ‘We’ll Fade’, before ‘Movie Night’ packs in lots of film references (14 by my count), and closer ‘I Believe in You’ sends a message to an as yet hypothetical true love.
“I guess,
We won’t meet until we are prepared
So in the meantime I’ll distract myself
With life and thoughts of everyone I know “
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You can get If We Are Falling / I Wish I Knew What You Did Last Summer from the Z Tapes Bandcamp page or online store.