Given that the few bits and pieces by Sons and Daughters that I had heard in the past really hadn't done anything for me, I was hardly on the edge of my seat to hear their latest offering. Perhaps it was my low expectations that rendered the first play of 'Mirror Mirror' all the more surprising.
'Silver Spell' is sparse and builds atmosphere from the off, with gothic undertones and overtly Scottish overtones (something less prevalent from hereon in). It’s a definite lure, but not necessarily indicative of the direction the rest of the album subsequently takes. 'The Model' isn't a cover of the Kraftwerk classic, but is a gem of a song in its own right. The guitar clanks like sheet metal against a measured rhythm and snaking bassline. It's the bass that drives much of the album, with 'Orion' – an obvious single choice if ever there was one – propelled by a particularly low-slung groove over which tripwire guitars swerve to exude a dark, simmering tension. 'Don't Look Now' has the kind of taught, claustrophobic feel that The March Violets were particularly adept at producing: the comparison extends into the song's execution, too, with the twin vocals bouncing off one another amongst the echoes, and the spiky post-punk feel permeates 'Rose Red' and, indeed, most of the songs here.
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Amidst the loops of spindly guitars that flicker over the funk-edged bassline of 'Axed Actor', there's a sudden and incongruous detour into something that sounds suspiciously like a few bars of 'Hey hey na na na na' (yes, the song by Bananarama). I can’t help but be amused, not least of all by the straight delivery.
Scott takes over from Adele for the lead vocal duties on the edgy, twitchy 'Breaking Fun', and it's a well-timed switch of tone - a trick that's repeated on final track 'The Beach', a slice of gothic surf that provides a contrast yet still sits neatly within the album's overall context. So while I play frisbee with the Wild Beasts CD, this is getting some heavy rotation at Nosnibor towers, 'cause it’s a corker.
Sons and Daughters on MySpace
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