Seneca was the stoic who was ordered to kill himself. The man bled to death in a tub… although it is rumoured that it was the steam that actually did him in. And now it’s getting morbid. To brighten the festering spirits, may I introduce you to the antipodal namesake, Saintseneca.
They are a four-piece band hailing from Columbus, Ohio who play what one may be tempted to call ‘makeover’ music. Let me answer before you question. You know those clichéd scenes in movies, where they take the clueless and highly unkempt heroine/hero, although come to think of it I haven’t really seen too many that involve men… anyway… so they take the lead actor and with a wave of the fairy godmother’s wand (or a visit to the local mall), voilà! The ugly duckling has morphed into a gorgeous, jaw-dropping swan. Likewise, these guys have taken fossil sounds, wiped the dirt off, given a good spit polish to the old and created this unique genre of folk meets punk.
‘Make-over music’ is a term we’ve yet to hear, until now. Saintseneca make tunes for those transformative moments of life.
Your ears will be treated to a range of instruments, from the mandolin to the banjo to the balalaika to modern-day synthesizers with good old electric guitar. Their music is inspired by a diverse range of artists, including the likes of Bob Dylan and The Cure. They’ve got one EP, two singles, a twelve-inch compilation and two albums, one of which was released just this March.
Blood Drawing (Last LP, 2011) is a peppy, upbeat track. The creamy vocals blend with the minimalistic sounds. The track is pretty devoid of excessive elements but it’s a good sort of emptiness. “When I sight a cliché of a free life, I don’t contend that it comes with no price.” Beautiful sticky words that hold so much depth. Listen! They are on tour all through April around the US. You can find the dates here.
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