The Repulsion Box

by

Sons and Daughters

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I bought this disc after hearing "dance me in" which i really think is a fantastic song. I guess from "dance me in" i figured the whole record would have a more pop angle to it. I was really dissapointed at first that it ended up sounding a lot like celtic music which i usually avoid like the plague.

Thing is, i liked "dance me in" so much i forced myself to listen to this record a few more times, and now ive found myself really sucked in. They do a great job and it has a really unique sound. It will be interesting to see if the hype machine gets behind them.

I picked this CD up because I thought it contained their excellent song "Johnny Cash", which I heard on the radio but at the time of this purchase I didn't know the song's title. Still, there are a number of fast paced, frenetic, "grab-your-shirt-by-the-collar" songs that demand your attention. "Medicine" starts off the album smartly with a sparse arrangement, sort of like acoustic punk. "Choked" reminds me a little of Franz Ferdinand's "40 Ft", "Dance Me In" is a catchy pop corker. I also like "Red Receiver", one of the album's songs getting some airplay on the radio. When I first heard Sons and Daughters they reminded me of a dark, twisted version of Dexy's Midnight Runners of the 1980s "Come On, Eileen" fame. For some reason, I got the impression there were 6 or 7 people in the band instead of being a quartet. Maybe it's the fullness of the sound or the backing vocals.

I'm drawn to bands that have multiple vocalists/harmonies, especially alternating male/female vocals, e.g., Belle and Sebastian, Sugarcubes, The Beautiful South, among others. Adele Bethel's vocals are fierce, urgent, and even pretty scary at times. I also like the way the vocals keep the Scottish accent intact, unlike a lot of British vocals where the accents are weirdly "Americanized" like Shirley Manson of Garbage, for example. The music resembles Violent Femmes, a little Throwing Muses, a little Smiths and a dash of The Fall. Many of the songs are less than 3 minutes in length so the album moves along pretty quickly. There are jagged acoustic/electric guitars, stompy, trashy drums, and touches of piano and mandolin.

There seems to be no end to the riches of impressive bands coming out of Scotland in the last few years and Sons and Daughters are only the latest example. I will be looking forward to picking up the mini-album "Love The Cup" which preceded this album. That CD does contain "Johnny Cash".

*** 1/2 stars (but probably will move higher after repeated plays).