Customer Reviews

Repulsion Box

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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).

The first thing I will tell you is that 'The Repulsion Box' is just ten songs and 31 minutes long. It is not intended as a warning as the second thing I will say about it is that, from the opening drum beat of 'Medicine' to the sudden final chord of 'Gone', it is as near perfect as any album I have heard.
In a way that bands of this genre are so often not (and it is an just an observation, not a criticism) Sons and Daughters have a crystal-clear touch to their sound and it somehow makes the songs seem much longer than they actually are. Few albums manage the focus of The Repulsion Box and no doubt all the influences were put into the equation but ultimately, when it came to making the journey, absolutely everything that was not strictly necessary was left behind. The result is influenced but nothing more and the band wrote the whole lot so it is highly original and done to perfection. Quite amazingly six tracks attain completeness in less than three minutes, so there are no self-indulgent ramblings. This is straight-talking music! The longest track, Rama Lama, which seems to involve almost endless twists and turns, is however only just over 5 minutes long!
The vocals are mainly by Adele Bethel, with backing by Scott Paterson, though that is not really a fair reflection of the way it works because they also alternate vocals in several songs and this works to spectacular effect; it is something that makes Sons and Daughters really stand out and it develops as the album progresses.

The album starts with the rather upbeat 'Medicine' but the rot sets in emotionally, not musically, with 'Red Receiver' which is excellent. 'Dance Me In' is incredibly catchy and the band saves some of its heaviest work for this song but the band is so good that you often almost don't notice it because it is perfectly in tune with the music. It reaches an apogee in 'Monsters', one of my favourite tracks on the album, when Adele at her petulant best issues an ultimatum of love gone-badly-wrong, only to be answered by Scott who gets to sing one of the best knock-back lyrics:

Monogamy for you it seems is just black and blue.
All the best psychotic lovers ain't got nothing on you!

The next track is 'Rama Lama', as mentioned above, and another case in point before finishing with 'Royally Used' and 'Gone'. Beyond that there is little more to say. It is just 31 minutes of sheer brilliance!

Sons and Daughters have performed with some pretty big names in indie rock, with Decemberists, the Fiery Furnaces and fellow Scots Franz Ferdinand. But aside from sharing stages, these bands don't really have anything much in common.

In fact, Sons and Daughters don't really sound like, well, any other rock band that's around at the moment. Instead they try something unique: combining the rhythms of punk and folk, resulting in the a gloriously dark debut album, "Repulsion Box."

It opens with a trashy drum solo, which is quickly joined by some sputtering bass and razor-sharp electric guitar. "Then I cannot feel my body and I'm floating then I'm drowned/And nothing I have taken keeps it down /It's a riiiide," Adele Bethel rapid-fires, sounding like an ingenue who's gotten mean after downing a few whiskeys.

And once the final explosive chords of "Medicine" have faded away, the album doesn't slow down. Okay, it slows down for exactly one song, a slow-burning rocker, before exploding into slow-burning rock, dancerock that puts trendier competitors to shame, and swirling punk set to earthy traditional rhythms. Result: both ominous and entertaining.

Okay, it's a pretty short album, clocking in at only about half an hour. I do wish they had tacked on a few more songs -- but then again, better a short good album than a lesser, longer one. And whatever it lacks in length, "Repulsion Box" makes up for in punch and energy. There's a purity to their music; no jumping onto trends or bandwagons, no filler songs.

Anyone who has heard Celtic folk will recognize the jiggy rhythms that make you want to dance, with handclaps, whistling and references to banshees. But this is not cheery music, with its sparsely-worded lyrics about broken love affairs and a woman drowned in the tub. It's ominous and rough, and it makes you feel that way even as you tap your feet to it.

This is also one of those bands that harmonizes male and female vocals. Bethel is paired with guitarist Scott Paterson, who usually does backing harmony. But occasionally bursts out with a brogued croon (or a snarl), "Monogamy to you it seems is just black and blue/All the best psychotic lovers ain't got nothing on you!" Yep, their brogues are intact, for people who like the accents untouched.

"Repulsion Box" is the ideal fusion of punk hellraising and traditional catchiness, resulting in dark, intense music that doesn't let up for a second.

If you enjoyed their previous album, "Love the Cup," you should enjoy this. This is a fantastic album. You can compare Sons and Daughters to other bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Futureheads, but the fact remains that they have their own unique sound and I don't get any of that "phony" vibe from them that I get from most of the new pseudo-garage/new wave bands that are proliferating now. Sons and Daughters are for real.

Note: At this time this CD is available in the US only as an import. Save some time and money and order directly from amazon.co.uk rather than waiting for amazon.com to import it for you. You'll get it much quicker and save a lot of money.

An absolute masterclass of an album. Pure controlled aggression put down into a spellbinding 31 minutes. I know that could sound like too many superlatives but I bloody well mean every word I say with this album. There is not one bad track on this and although it is a very short album it is a bittersweet experience. Bitter in its content but sweet listening. The day I first got this I listened to this I was jumping around and put it on repeat. The sheer reckless/feckless energy this has is something else. Pure brilliance what more can I say. I would say that this should be essential listening to everybody but that would be mere bias on my part as would be me saying that every track on here should be a single but I'll try not to get too carried away here. Recommended? You bet. And tell your friends about this band. And they should tell their friends too.

Right I should stop now before I sound like a PR for the band.

Sons and Daughters have performed with some pretty big names in indie rock, with Decemberists, the Fiery Furnaces and fellow Scots Franz Ferdinand. But aside from sharing stages, these bands don't really have anything much in common.

In fact, Sons and Daughters don't really sound like, well, any other rock band that's around at the moment. Instead they try something unique: combining the rhythms of punk and folk, resulting in the a gloriously dark debut album, "Repulsion Box."

It opens with a trashy drum solo, which is quickly joined by some sputtering bass and razor-sharp electric guitar. "Then I cannot feel my body and I'm floating then I'm drowned/And nothing I have taken keeps it down /It's a riiiide," Adele Bethel rapid-fires, sounding like an ingenue who's gotten mean after downing a few whiskeys.

And once the final explosive chords of "Medicine" have faded away, the album doesn't slow down. Okay, it slows down for exactly one song, a slow-burning rocker, before exploding into slow-burning rock, dancerock that puts trendier competitors to shame, and swirling punk set to earthy traditional rhythms. Result: both ominous and entertaining.

Okay, it's a pretty short album, clocking in at only about half an hour. I do wish they had tacked on a few more songs -- but then again, better a short good album than a lesser, longer one. And whatever it lacks in length, "Repulsion Box" makes up for in punch and energy. There's a purity to their music; no jumping onto trends or bandwagons, no filler songs.

Anyone who has heard Celtic folk will recognize the jiggy rhythms that make you want to dance, with handclaps, whistling and references to banshees. But this is not cheery music, with its sparsely-worded lyrics about broken love affairs and a woman drowned in the tub. It's ominous and rough, and it makes you feel that way even as you tap your feet to it.

This is also one of those bands that harmonizes male and female vocals. Bethel is paired with guitarist Scott Paterson, who usually does backing harmony. But occasionally bursts out with a brogued croon (or a snarl), "Monogamy to you it seems is just black and blue/All the best psychotic lovers ain't got nothing on you!" Yep, their burrs are intact, for people who like the accents untouched.

"Repulsion Box" is the ideal fusion of punk hellraising and traditional catchiness, resulting in dark, intense music that doesn't let up for a second.

This album is fantastic. After last years EP (Love the Cup), I had a strong feeling about this band.
They do the common guy/girl vocals but it fits perfectly.
They twist folk/punk/rock/alt. pop all into one solid rhythm. The lyrics are dark and destructive. Much of the writing is about betrayal or being fed-up with someone once close to you.
I'm guessing it will be years before this band does a bland album.
You can watch them live on www.xfm.co.uk opening up for the Fiery Furnaces (I suggest listening/watching both shows)

One song reminds me of a pixies influence the rest completely bury themselves in your skull. Not kindly to be sure, these guys don't do any of these songs kindly. Just like the subject matter they want to drive their points in and then leaving you wanting more. It's a feast of Raw energy very similar to Iggy Pop, it's like if Belle and Sebastian had beef with everybody and got dumped out by the record industry, they'd probably come back angry and snarling. Not needing your attention, but making you want theirs.

I like music that lays their cards on the table, they found an emotion and ran with it, it's very frustrated noise lamenting. If you can't get into it, it's probably because it scares you.

I heard a song by these guys on Weeds and thought I'd give them a try. There are many interesting things in their music, but it doesn't really come together as it might. Give their Johnny Cash EP a try instead.