 by Steve McPherson
Remember those commercials for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that re-enacted the drama of the first accidental combination of chocolate and peanut butter into one potent mix? Some bright soul at Grey Flight Records should make a promo spot for the Cardinal Sin, but instead of chocolate and peanut butter, insert pop and punk. And no, they’re not the first band to come up with this winning combination, but they are an effective reminder of why this one-two punch is such a sugary and bittersweet delight.
Head on over to our Mp3 page and download the Cardinal Sin’s song “Where We Shine.”
 Sitting
in the Uptown Pizza Luce, lead singer and guitarist James Russell explains,
“We’ve all played in hardcore bands—” and bassist Jon
Ness cuts in: “We’ve all played in real poppy bands and I think
it’s really just those things coming together.” This afternoon,
the band has come together at what proves to be the geographic center of their
worklives: James has just returned here from a delivery run, drummer Rebecca
Hanten and Ness work at the Seward Luce, and guitarist Mark Shaw dusts off the
pedals at Twin Town Guitars down the street. Wisely, they’ve chosen rock-friendly
jobs (Jon and James also work at the Triple Rock) that let them get out of town
without going broke. “It can really suck,” explains James, “to
have to keep getting new jobs which you have to quit after only a couple of
months.”
They should know. The Cardinal Sin may only be putting out its first release
(The Oil and Water EP on Grey Flight Records), but they’ve all
done time on the road—Hanten and Russell with Cadillac Blindside, Shaw
with Song of Zarathustra and Ness with The Crush.
Original guitarist T.J. McInnis (also from Song) left the band to pursue his
interest in tattooing, and while the band is quick to emphasize that it was
a parting on the best of terms, explaining that in the bio was a little harder.
“I had to call Becky several times, saying, ‘I don’t really
know how to approach having a band member leave,’” says Shaw, “It
really was an amicable, mutual thing; he just really didn’t want to do
music anymore. He’s still a really good friend.” Ness joined in
his stead, replacing McInnis on guitar, but switched with Shaw after realizing
that each was better at the other’s instrument. With their lineup secure
and no longer the shortest band in the Twin Cities—Ness is tall and lanky
while McInnis is, according to Hanten, “5’9” wearing boots”—they
set about writing and preparing to record.
McInnis’ departure doesn’t weigh on the band personally, but the
kind of decision he had to make is shot through their songs. The big breakup
is a standard for screamy pop/punk bands, and the Sin have their fair share,
but this isn’t Sum 41. They’re not a bunch of pissed-off and broken-hearted
youths; they have problems like paying the rent and making ends meet. “It
was all going well / then it changed on me, it turned on me at 25,” sings
Russell in “Quarter-Life Crisis,” and his conviction sells it as
a viable complaint, not a helpless mewl. When asked about influences, they cite
Drive Like Jehu and Rocket from the Crypt. Their EP includes a note-perfect
rendition of local heroes The Replacements’ “Bastards of Young”
and Russell has his sights set on a Guns ’n’ Roses cover. Shaw says,
“There’s definitely a lot of straight rock elements, a lot of guitar
stuff that’s pretty rock and roll, catchy choruses, you know.”
Catchy choruses: definitely. On the record, there’s not a lot to distinguish
the band from any number of really solid bands in the vein of Hey Mercedes or
the Get Up Kids in their earlier, angrier phase; but live, those catchy choruses
evolve into deliciously punishing anthems, and the music is played with the
kind of energy and devotion that makes you appreciate bands that really mean
it. There’s an awful lot of posturing and sarcasm going on in rock nowadays,
and it’s refreshing to see a group that really gives themselves over to
the music. Russell’s veins bulge in his neck while Shaw and Ness thrash
about the stage and Hanten keeps it steady. Seeing them in a venue like the
Triple Rock reminds you that a lot of those bands you may pass over because
of the big label started somewhere very much like this and they probably kicked
ass, too.
 Their
“Bastards of Young” cover made its debut at the Triple Rock last
Halloween at an impromptu costume show where they dressed up as the ‘Mats.
The EP’s version of the cover is faithful to the original, but, to their
credit, it doesn’t stand up to their own songs. Recorded by Grant Cutler
at the Hideaway in Northeast, Oil and Water might not have the primal appeal
of their live show, but the opener “Where We Shine” has a chuggingly
hooky guitar riff that hangs nicely on a tale of the dissolution of a relationship,
building to a satisfyingly huge chorus, complete with harmony vocals that Cutler
had some fun with. “Grant put a bunch of chorus on the vocals and made
it sound like Boston or Kansas,” explains Russell, “Grant put [the
harmonies] real high in the mix and brought everything else down, so it’s
just like ten vocal tracks: (sings) ‘Carry on my wayward son…’”
“I always say that I hate recording,” Ness interjects, “and
I hate being in the studio; I like the product but I don’t like sitting
around all day listening to guitar tracks, but Grant made it really fun.”
So much fun that a plan was hatched then and there in the studio for Cutler’s
band Passions to hit the road with the Cardinal Sin. Passions’ drummer
Joe Mabbott owns the Hideaway, and the divide between some of his clientele
and the Sin was distinct, but not unbridgeable. “It was cool because I
would go in and do vocals at night,” says Russell, “but during the
day, Slug was in there working on his album. So I’m in there singing right
after Slug’s doing his thing, and he’s gonna sell a lot more records
than us.” For a band that was created through the reconstitution of several
others, is another chocolate-meets-peanut-butter moment in the offing? “Maybe
I should start rapping,” muses Russell, right before the table breaks
up into laughter at his impromptu a capella.
The Cardinal Sin perform the CD release shows for Oil and Water on Sat.
April 9 at the Triple Rock Social Club with Die Electric! and Thunder in the
Valley. 10 p.m. $6. 21+. 629 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. 612-333-7399. They play again
on Sun. April 10 at the Triple Rock Social Club with Morris, Maiden Korea and
Thunder in the Valley. 5 p.m. $6. All Ages.
For further information on the Cardinal Sin check out their official website
at TheCardnialSin.com.
Head on over to our Mp3 page and download the Cardinal Sin’s song “Where
We Shine.”
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