Sons And Daughters

The family tree for Glasgow bands would be a tangled and confused web. Ever since the late ’70s, band members have been freely swapped and many "new” projects are simply new combinations of familiar faces. So it should be a surprise that the members of Sons And Daughters have been involved with some other bands: Adele Bethel and David Gow were both in Arab Strap while Scott Paterson was the man behind March Of Dimes. But their combined musical history hasn’t had a huge influence on their new project, which has a much more unique sound. They have found the middle ground between folk and blues, and it works remarkably well. There’s more than a touch of Dry-era PJ Harvey, and it isn’t just a coincidence that they’ve chosen to compose a song about Johnny Cash because his dark country music has also helped shape Love The Cup. The seven songs here give both Bethel and Gow a chance to take the vocal lead, but they are at their most charming when they are going at it together, atop some mandolin and screeching violin. It remains to see if they can cast their spell for the duration of an entire album, but that seems increasingly likely after a few listens to Love The Cup. They’ve hit upon a fascinating sound, and that makes Sons And Daughters one of the most promising bands to emerge from Scotland in quite some time.