Search - Sinners & Saints :: Sky Is Falling

Real Rock N' Roll is still alive

The Stalker | Somerset Kentucky | 09/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sinners & Saints are composed of core members White Trash Rob Lind (of Blood For Blood fame) and his brother Mark (of Ducky Boys fame). Rob and Mark, both very influenced by pure rock n' roll decided to team up, write some songs and make a record that sounds like a cross-breed of Social Distortion, Guns N' Roses, and even a little Bruce Springsteen sprinkled in for good measure. The end result happens to be my third favorite record of 2002 (trailing behind Frank Black's 2 amazing new releases). Being a Blood For Blood fan for several years, I knew that Rob would not disappoint me. Recent B4B releases have strayed a bit from their pure hardcore roots, combining elements of rock n' roll and tons of catchy melody along with the ever-present anger, and, IMO, each record is better than the one before it. So that brings us to Sinners & Saints. According to Rob and Mark, some of the material on "The Sky Is Falling" was actually written for B4B and the Ducky Boys. Of course, by listening to the record you would never know it. There's not a single trace of hardcore to be found here. Just sugar sweet melodies, ultra catchy yet simple riffs and Rob and Mark pulling off some fantastic vocals. Rob is really impressive, his voice has never sounded better. In fact, upon first listen I actually had to question if this was really Rob singing. Unlike his vocal performances in B4B, there's really not a lot of anger here. Just A LOT of heart. Mark's voice has improved from his Ducky Boys performances as well. Lyrically, this is one hell of a heartfelt record. If you can't find something to relate to here, you must not be human. "The Times We Had" is brilliant. The lyrics never really clarify whether or not the narrator is reminiscing of lost love or merely lost friendship, but I can relate to it on both levels. "Nothing At All" finds Mark doing the lead vocals, singing about crossing paths with an ex-lover. Very heartfelt. Once again, I totally relate. "The Sky Is Falling" finds Rob doing an amazing job on lead vocals. This song is just so brilliant. When you hear it you will be asking yourself "why the hell isn't this band HUGE?" This song alone destroys any of the rock singles that have received any degree of airplay in the past couple of years. "Never Too Young To Die", another favorite (hell, the whole damn record is incredible), starts out very reminiscent of the song "Glitter" by Motley Crue (from the Generation Swine record). Of course once the song kicks in, it's pure Sinners & Saints, ultra-catchy melodies and, once again, very well written lyrics. This song is a song of hope narrated by someone who feels hopeless and tired of trying. Buy this and listen, you'll totally understand exactly what I mean. "The Sky Is Falling" ends with "It's All Coming Down"...another Mark-sang song. Really catchy chorus that reminds me, for some reason, of Rick Springfields "Jessies Girl". I know both Rob and Mark are really into 80's pop, so it would only be natural that a little bit of that influence would seep into their music. If you're a rock n' roll fan BUY THIS IMMEDIATELY!!! I can't stress enough just how strong a record this is. In a world with true justice, these guys would be mega-stars, touring stadiums filled with sold-out crowds. The amazing thing about "The Sky Is Falling" is the fact that it can (and will) appeal to so many different crowds (the Weezer/Foo Fighters crowd, The GNR crowd, the Social Distortion crowd)...and I dare say, with the exception of maybe GNR, S&S are better than any of the above. Trust me on this one folks. This is a truly amazing record in an era in which placing the word "amazing" in front of the word "record" is becoming an ever increasingly difficult task."