The Saint James Society

Austin, Texas mystical-garage quintet The Saint James Society inflict a sound that instantly announces their influences—the Doors, Roky Erickson, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Black Sabbath. The band has its own tag, “Pentecostal desert glam,” but even this falls short of summing up their voluptuous, post-punk/stoner-doom cacophony. Opening track “Reflections” captures that eerie moment when a skipping stone scars the water’s surface, except in this case you suspect the missile might be boomeranging, poised to smash your head. “Ballad of the White Horse” is a galloping, blues-huffing, monster riff, singer/bassist Brandon Burkart burying what are probably interesting lyrics inside layers of reverb. But it’s when his wife Elza and Candice Bertalan attack the mics for surging, Spanish galleon-sinking “Of Silver and Gold” that one realizes the band destroys in a live setting. Ideal music for black lights and bong hits at midnight. Don’t listen to this alone, please. - The Vegas Seven

Austin, Texas mystical-garage quintet The Saint James Society inflict a sound that instantly announces their influences—the Doors, Roky Erickson, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Black Sabbath. The band has its own tag, “Pentecostal desert glam,” but even this falls short of summing up their voluptuous, post-punk/stoner-doom cacophony. Opening track “Reflections” captures that eerie moment when a skipping stone scars the water’s surface, except in this case you suspect the missile might be boomeranging, poised to smash your head. “Ballad of the White Horse” is a galloping, blues-huffing, monster riff, singer/bassist Brandon Burkart burying what are probably interesting lyrics inside layers of reverb. But it’s when his wife Elza and Candice Bertalan attack the mics for surging, Spanish galleon-sinking “Of Silver and Gold” that one realizes the band destroys in a live setting. Ideal music for black lights and bong hits at midnight. Don’t listen to this alone, please. - The Vegas Seven

With the Chronicle's new club crawl landing on news stands tomorrow, the Saint James Society's self-titled debut comes well timed. The three-mile-wide psych rock of “The Ballad of the White Horse” booms no paean to the East Sixth St. honky-tonk, but a video for the local sextet's “Reflections” was shot at Cheer Up Charlie's.
Due Feb. 7, the four-track The Saint James Society sent me scrambling to the Psych Fest 5 poster to see if the group is listed. No yet, it turns out, but the locals' pre-South by Southwest CD release party at the site of the video stacks its own gathering of tribes:
Sunday, March 4, noon-10pm at Cheer Up Charlie's: Ten hours, 10 bands (the 10th still TBD), $10. Followed by DJs Brandon Burkhart of TSJS and Jake Garcia of the Ripe until 2am. - The Austin Chrionicle

Who: Local five-piece The Saint James Society are releasing their debut EP on February 7th, which is either self-titled or called Pray For Us, depending on which piece of press you read. The group is signed with Tee Pee Records out of New York.
What: More big-sounding psych-rock to fuel the fire kindled by the 13th Floor Elevators and more recently tended to by the Black Angels. Fuzzy, buzzy, and heavy.
More: The band go on a big tour in February but return for an Austin gig at Cheer Up Charlies on March 4th. Do not be surprised if the band are announced for Psych Fest, though they haven't been mentioned officially...yet. - The Austinist

Who: Local five-piece The Saint James Society are releasing their debut EP on February 7th, which is either self-titled or called Pray For Us, depending on which piece of press you read. The group is signed with Tee Pee Records out of New York.
What: More big-sounding psych-rock to fuel the fire kindled by the 13th Floor Elevators and more recently tended to by the Black Angels. Fuzzy, buzzy, and heavy.
More: The band go on a big tour in February but return for an Austin gig at Cheer Up Charlies on March 4th. Do not be surprised if the band are announced for Psych Fest, though they haven't been mentioned officially...yet. - The Austinist

THE SAINT JAMES SOCIETY sind das neue Highlight auf dem eh nicht gerade an Highlights armen Tee Pee-Label.
Und sie klingen ganz kurz und bündig auf den Punkt gebracht fuzz fueled, greased & moody, jaw twitchin', shit kickin', soul stompin', crack slippin', long-haired, hot & sticky.

Was sollen wir da noch großartig hinzufügen?
Vielleicht, dass sich die Damen und Herren weniger verhuscht anhören, als diese Stilbeschreibung manche von Euch vermuten lässt - Stormbringer // Netherlands

THE SAINT JAMES SOCIETY sind das neue Highlight auf dem eh nicht gerade an Highlights armen Tee Pee-Label.
Und sie klingen ganz kurz und bündig auf den Punkt gebracht fuzz fueled, greased & moody, jaw twitchin', shit kickin', soul stompin', crack slippin', long-haired, hot & sticky.

Was sollen wir da noch großartig hinzufügen?
Vielleicht, dass sich die Damen und Herren weniger verhuscht anhören, als diese Stilbeschreibung manche von Euch vermuten lässt - Stormbringer // Netherlands

Aus Texas kommen nicht nur jodelnde Cowboys. Sondern auch die “Saint James Society”, deren Musik sich weniger heilig anhört als der Name vermuten ließe. Die fünfköpfige Truppe aus Austin, Texas, legt nun ihren ersten Tonträger für den siebten Februar 2012 vor. Vier Titel, deren Stil die Band selbst als “Doom-Wop/Garage-adelic/Desert Glam” bezeichnet. Wir legen sie mal der Einfachheit halber unter “Independent” ab. Immerhin sind sie auch beim durchaus nicht uninteressanten Indie-Label Tee Pee Records (die sich immerhin auch “The Brian Jonestown Massacre” geschnappt haben!) unter Vertrag gekommen.

Erstes Anhören weckt Assoziationen zu “Philip Boa and the Voodooclub”, “The Cramps”, “The Doors” und mehr. Melancholisch und wie in Trance ziehen die Songs auf wie dunkle Wolken am Himmel. Seltsamerweise ohne deprimiert oder deprimierend zu wirken. Gesang mit Höhlen-Hall und schnodderige Gitarren legen sich gemächlich über einen Beat, der auch für weniger gemächliche Musik geeignet wäre. So Boaesk eben. Aber mit weniger Ausschuß. Diese vier Titel:

1.) Reflections
2.) The Ballad of the White Horse
3.) Of Silver & Gold
4.) The Devil, an Angel and a Broken Window

sind eher langsam, aber nicht lahm, düster, aber nicht depressiv und sollte man sich durchaus anhören. Passt sehr gut zu hospitalistisch pendelndem Oberkörper!

Wie’s mit Konzerten in Reichweite aussieht können wir noch nicht sagen. Derzeit gurken sie jedenfalls noch durch die USA.
- AlbumCheck // Germany

Austin, TX psychedelic garage rockers THE SAINT JAMES SOCIETY have signed with NYC’s Tee Pee Records and will release their self-titled debut The Saint James Society on February 7, 2012. Recorded at ATX’s Cacophony Recorders (The Black Angels, Explosions in the Sky, Roky Erickson), the four song EP delivers electric rock music that brilliantly connects the dots between the late ’60s British blues-based bands and the brooding atmospheres of early ’80s post punk resulting in a hypnotically powerful sound the fabulous five-piece has coined “Pentecostal Desert Glam“.

THE SAINT JAMES SOCIETY fuses a “raw energy” sound with the pseudo-mysticism of The Doors and the guitar-orchestrations of classic hard rock, skillfully synthesizing these musical touchstones to create their debut EP. An energized recording bursting with a muscularity as fuzzy-headed and adventurous as their off-stage exploits, the group’s darkly iridescent, kill-your-idols vibe is a fist-punching yelp of energy that demands to be heard at maximum volume. When the heavy swagger of vocalist / bassist Brandon Burkart aligns with the band’s heavy-footed rhythms, ticking-time-bomb beat and stunning twin vocal tandem of rebel queens Elza Burkart and Candice Bertalan, the resulting musical statement mainlines the thrill of defiance straight to the listener’s heart. Placing their steps in the petrified footprints left by the Velvet Underground and the slightly fresher ones of Spacemen 3, THE SAINT JAMES SOCIETY reduces the blues to one nasty lick pickled in distortion. Meet your new favorite band.

“A long road led from San Francisco to Austin, with melodies summoned from litter and glitter,” Burkart dishes. “The Saint James Society erupted into the eternal evening. We are Pentecostal Desert Glam for the dawn of the apocalypse.”



The track listing for The Saint James Society is as follows:

1.) Reflections
2.) The Ballad of the White Horse
3.) Of Silver & Gold
4.) The Devil, an Angel and a Broken Window

Just prior to the release of the EP, THE SAINT JAMES SOCIETY will take its “big show” on the road, kicking off a month long U.S. tour on February 2 in San Antonio. The band is expected to debut new music from the EP imminently and will film a video for the song “Reflections” in the coming weeks. - Metal Assault LA