Medictation was the last project that Dickie Hammond (founding guitarist of Leatherface) worked on before his death in 2015. Other members include Leatherface’s Graeme Philliskirk and a trio of Sainte Catherines members. Considering I have—if not outright fevered adoration—at least a staunch respect for both bands, this should’ve been a home run. And believe me, it’s good: there’s Hugo Mudie’s familiar rasp, that warm and familiar guitar tone we’ve loved for years. There might a little ferocity lost for the fact that this seems more a studio side project than anything else, but if it’s as close as we’ll get to a new Sainte Catherines record, I’ll take it. Closes out with “Stalingrad,” presumably penned and sung by Hammond, and it’s a morose and unflinching lamentation about a life full of missteps and mistakes. Pretty haunting way to close out the record. –Keith Rosson (Dead Broke)