icture the scene. Monday night at the
Sub Club. To the uninitiated it appears as
if ()ptimo has accidentally rolled on for 18 extra hours. Not quite but true to form. Twitch and Wilkes are manning the turntablery for this special invite-only shindig celebrating the relaunch of a well known High Street clothing retailer (TopShop. if you must know). The special guests for the evening are Glasgow’s own Sons and Daughters. Much free drink has been flowing and the typically atypical tnix of ()ptimo tunes gives the evening an atmosphere of general giddiness. Look. there‘s liugene Kelly over there. Cool!
Just as some squonky funk track jerks off the decks and into the distance. the cold. echoey twang of a guitar signals a shift in focus from the decks to the stage. With one rattling riff Sons and Daughters arrive. Decked out in TopShop linery (which is finer than you might expect) they
storm through a brief but bombastic set. Many of
the extremely partisan revellers may be well attuned to the band‘s sound by now. but it still manages to prompt a collected intake of breath around the room.
Sons and Daughters are one of those great bands that are hard to explain. Sure. they're a little bit country. a little bit rock‘n‘roll. but hey. throw a turd at this week‘s NMIS and you‘ll probably splat someone who fits that description. lt‘s twin duelling male/female vocals. the frantic ring of a mandolin. it‘s herd-of—buffalo tom rolls of the best rockabilly record you heard but can‘t remember the name of and sheets of sturm und drang guitar reverberations that make teeth rattle. Safe to say. at its peak their sound is an intimidating noise. a cruelly dynamic beast which is rarely tamed. stalking between tension and furtive suggestion and often erupting in ferocious rage. When pressed for details on those who inspire them. guitarist and vocalist Scott Paterson quickly fesses up to the Velvet Underground. PJ Harvey. Johnny Cash. the musical complexity and lyrical depth of the Smiths and the adrenalised genius of Nick (‘ave's early incarnation. the Birthday Party. And on closer inspection there‘s everything from the (‘ramps to Love to Bob Dylan woven into their sound.
When detailing the last 12 months in the life of
Sons and Daughters. it‘s hard not to mention Franz Ferdinand. So we will. The band are not only kindred spirits but tour mates. The two groups spent a fair portion of the last year on the road together and Sons and Daughters were swept along with the likes of Dogs Die in Hot Cars and Aberfeldy in the wave of l’ranzmania last summer. But it took the keen ears of an American. Ben Goldberg. head honcho at New York indie label Ba Da Bingl. to see the sense in unleashing Sons and Daughters‘ early recordings on the general populus. Mini-album Love the ('up popped out on import in November 2003. to near universal praise. before Domino picked it up for domestic consumption some months later. Few bands really get to the point these days. but Love the ('14,). clocking in at an all-too-brief 25'/:
minutes. was in and otit before you even had a chance to focus your ears. The band’s debut full album. The Repu/sion But. which sees the light of day in June. is similarly concise. rattling through ten songs in 3] minutes.
‘I think there‘s a tendency to listen to short albums more often. and if they’re really good they’ll stand up to those repeated listens —- records like Love's Forever ('lmnges.’ offers bassist/mandolin-player Ailidh Lennon. She definitely has a point. An incredibly live record.
The Repu/siun Buy builds on the early fervour of
Love the ('up and takes it further. making it darker. bigger and wilder.
The album was swiftly laid to tape at the studio of late. great producer (‘onnie Plank in (iermany. Previous tenants of this rural retreat have
included Kraftwerk during their recording of Autobahn. Brian lino making Before and After
Seienee and — something that delighted Paterson hugely ~ it was the studio where liltravox recorded 'Vienna‘.
‘C‘onnie‘s widow Krista still runs the studio and does all the catering and she was the most amazing cook. she really looked after us.’ Paterson explains. ‘And you get really immersed in the whole process of recording. because it’s so isolated |the studio is deep in the (ierman countryside]. There‘s less nonsense around to distract you and the focus remains on the music.’
This is an album filled with dark tales of lust. deceit and vicious intent. strung out on wiry (and even occasionally Wire-y) guitar lines and rambunctious rhythms. ()ne of the album’s
‘FOR OUR NEXT ALBUM I'D LOVE TO INTRODUCE OTHER DIFFERENT RHYTHMS: MARIMBAS, TANGOS, ANYTHING'
highlights. ‘llunt‘ sounds like a lloorliller in a square dance in Hades. And OK. so they owe more than a couple of nods to Nick (‘ave for the wholesale buggery of his classic ‘Tupelo‘ for ‘Dance Me ln‘. which they bolstered with their own beatilic go—faster stripes and spoiler. but it‘s a easy contender for single of the year.
‘I like the fact we don‘t have a sound that some bands have which means you can do that but can‘t break away from it.‘ says Paterson. ‘l‘or our next album I'd love to introduce loads of other different rhythms: marimbas. tangos. anything.‘
‘There is one track on the album which is bordering on happy hardcore in tempo.‘ adds drummer David (iow. The quartet are momentarily distracted. picturing the scene: a Burberried ned furiously revving the souped—up engine of his metallic orange XRZ at the traffic lights of Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night to the strains of ‘Blood‘ or ‘Rania Lama‘.
SONS AND DAUGHTERS how affable people can make such damn scary music.
‘That would be amazing!‘ they splutter in unison.
()ne over-excited hack branded them a ‘Buckfast-denched Nancy Sinatra and Lee lla/lewood‘ which. believe it or not. is a compliment. The onstage chemistry between vocalist/guitarist/pianist Adele Bethel and Paterson is palpable — understandable perhaps. since the pair are an item. He is stoic and rigid. bursting into momentary lunges across the stage. his guitar shuddering. when it all gets too much. She is somewhere between a flamenco dancer and a tantrummy toddler. momentarily invoking the spirit of legendary Scots blues wailer .‘Vlaggie Bell. ()r a young Nick (‘ave in a fancy frock. In short. she‘s a pretty full-on performer. Which is extremely apposite when you consider the ferocity and tension in Sons and Daughters' music: tension is drilled throughout their songs. ()ff-stage. meanwhile. they're four incredibly affable people. So where on earth does the tension come from?
‘lt’s just all those things that build up.. says Bethel. cryptically. ‘I think we get it all out of our system in the music. though. so we're pretty chilled out as people.‘
Things are moving fast for the band and even now a lot can happen in six weeks. From the show at the Sub ('1th to our meeting in lidinburgh. there‘s been a new Pope. a royal wedding and an extensive l7K tour. Sons and Daughters have been out on the road as support to ldlewild. "They're like a big surrogate family on a tour bus. It‘s great.' declares drummer David (iow. They are a furtive foil for ldlewild's more rounded rockisms; it’s a pretty great match.
Picture the scene. It‘s Tuesday night and a couple of thousand ldlewth kids shuflle politely into the bejewelled ceramic spectacle that is lidinburgh's lisher llall. Tonight the vast stage. accustomed to creaking under the weight of your average philharmonic. plays host to four diminutive figures casting tall shadows against a vast white backdrop. The venue may have changed but the drama and malevolence of that night at the Subbie remain. None ofthe impact is lost. Bethel writhes like a snake in a bag. while Paterson jerks metronomically. like a clockwork toy replica of Joe Strummer. while (low and Lennon nail the beat down. During the penultimate song. Bethel stomps tip to Paterson and they grind pelvis to pelvis — well actually more pelvis to strings to pelvis. There‘s a guitar in the way. but you get the idea. The l'shcr Hall has rarely seen such scenes of rock‘n'roll friskiness.
Sons and Daughters make furiously good music designed perfectly for head and hips. music that will undoubtedly worm its way the heart and remain there. (io be seduced.
The single ‘Dance Me In’ is out Mon 23 May and the album The Repulsion Box is out Mon 6 Jun, both on Domino. See next issue for a review. Sons and Daughters play QMU, Glasgow, Thu 9 Jun.
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