SONS & DAUGHTERS - The Repulsion Box

Eccentric Scots expected to confirm their promise after a lively debut EP ("Love The Cup", 2004), Sons & Daughters try again with a compact primer of cow-punk that, in a little over half an hour, tours its various sources without ever losing its footing. "The Repulsion Box" is the treasure chest of small, great wonders crafted by Adele Bethell (guitar, vocals), Scott Paterson (guitar, vocals), David Gow (drums) and Ailidh Lennon (bass, mandolin, piano). Chanting, note after note, with overwhelming exuberance, these 10 songs all display a clearly defined identity, with lively, subtly "arty" arrangements. There's a purity of youthful fervour and a desire to come out into the open, reeling off sobbing folk/punk progressions ("Medicine"), getting drunk on a choral round-dance that recalls Violent Femmes, right through to "Choked", which nods its head in affirmation.

There's a homogeneity of intent and a roundness to a sound that has grown in confidence, to the point of presenting itself as uninhibited choral singing ("Red Receiver") before breaking loose, at a gallop, into the electric dust of "Hunt", or aping certain Legal Weapon moves ("Dance Me In"). The shuffle of "Taste The Last Girl" further reinvigorates the contagious aura that pervades the pulsing heart of "Monsters" itself, a poppy singalong quality with acid flourishes that pierce the brain and dissolve on the tongue like a lemon drop. Despite a vague sense of monochromaticity, theirs is a sound that lies dormant just beneath the surface, revealing itself more and more with repeated listens.

It will thus be possible to pick out, as an excellent example of dazed synthesis, the muted post-punk of "Rama Lama", tinged with country-western chiaroscuro. The hand-claps keeping time on "Royally Used", the streaked guitar, the sense of euphoria, the liberating screams of "Gone" all add up, ultimately, to one of the most exciting records of the year. Without chasing the Holy Grail, these likeable Scots draw a line between the vast majority of records that are merely nice and those that, instead, will endure because they are sincere and damn intriguing.

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30/04/2026