SONS AND DAUGHTERS
Erase all memories of crappy daytime Aussie soaps because the phrase Sons and Daughters now has a much cooler connotation. The Scottish four-piece band of the same name are in the middle of a music industry stushie at the moment, umpteen labels vying for their signatures, and quite rightly so.
Formed several years ago and including a couple of ex-members of Arab Strap’s touring band, they are a charismatic bunch of ballistic folk country rockers with bourbon in their veins and Johnny Cash in their hearts.
While relatively unknown over here, the band already have a mini-album released in the States, Love the Cup, on New York label Ba Da Bing, and have just returned from tearing up the Yanks’ eastern seaboard.
“It’s going fantastic, beyond our wildest dreams,’ enthuses guitarist and co- vocalist Scott Paterson, despite some transatlantic jetlag. Just back from those US shows, Paterson is still bamboozled by their ecstatic reception. ‘None of us went out there with any kind of expectations at all, but people
kept saying they loved the band. It was a total success really.’
It makes sense that Sons and Daughters have caught fire in the States. Their music references 30 years of leftfield American sounds, and it’s clearly a place they have a lot of affection for.
‘All the musicians we really love are American, people like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. To go over there and see where it all comes from was so inspiring.’
Back in Blighty there is the little matter of a tour opening for the new kings of the world, Franz Ferdinand. Sons and Daughters are long-time friends with the foppish ones, and Paterson reckons their success is thoroughly deserved.
‘It couldn‘t happen to a more deserving bunch,’ he says. ‘When I first saw them I thought they were just phenomenal. Their success is great news for everyone in Glasgow and for music in general. It’s a kick up the arse to a lot of bands, they’ve really raised the stakes.’
It’s a challenge Sons and Daughters have clearly accepted with relish. (DJ)