city saints

City Saints

City Saints is a punk rock group from Gothenburg. It forms in 2012 and plays a style that combines punk with early rock’n’roll, with influences drawn from Motörhead, Cock Sparrer, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, Ramones and the Sex Pistols. The group’s slogan is “Kicking ass for the working class.”

Formation and background

The band grows out of discussions between drummer Magnus Jonsson and Stefan Johansson, who both have long histories in other punk groups. Jonsson spends nearly twenty years as a force in street punk band Perkele, while Johansson is the drummer of Chillihounds. They begin talking about a parallel high-energy punk rock project around fifteen years before City Saints finally comes together. By the time the band starts, the two have already accumulated ten albums, numerous EPs, singles and tours between them.

Line-up

City Saints later adds the remaining members of Chillihounds: Carl Linnaeus on bass guitar and Gabriel Aadland on guitar. The listed line-up is Magnus Jonsson on drums and vocals, Gabriel Aadland on guitar and vocals, Carl Linnaeus on bass guitar, and Stefan Johansson on vocals and harmonica.

Style

The band’s sound is described as tight but loose, with a strong emphasis on energetic punk rock and rock’n’roll. It is associated with the punk scene in Gothenburg and reflects a working-class attitude in both image and outlook.