Sons and Daughters

This Gift (Domino)

By Emily Becker
Published: April 8th, 2008 | 2:55pm

From the crunching guitars that kick off “Gilt Complex,” to the atmospheric groove that ends “Goodbye Service,” Sons and Daughters deliver their best work to date on This Gift, which is a rousing mix of propulsive, foot-stomping instrumentation, and emotionally black lyrics. The Glaswegian foursome has made some changes since they released The Repulsion Box in 2005. They swept away all remaining traces of country twang; Ailidh Lennon now plays bass nearly full time, supremely well, but no mandolin. This Gift succeeds primarily because Sons and Daughters figured out how to vary their sound without diluting it.

“The Nest,” which was inspired by Cathy Come Home, a film about homelessness, shows off Bethel’s ability to craft a clever and poignant lyric as she sings, “You’re only half a person now / So fold over what is left / And be addressed.” This Gift has a few lighter moments too, as on “Chains,” when Bethel and Scott Paterson playfully trade vocals and count in dialect, “1,2,3,4 / You’re out on the streets / Knock knockin’ at me door.”

Wearing their Smiths fandom proudly is nothing new for Sons and Daughters — they have toured with Morrissey and had already written at least one track (The Repulsion Box’s “Taste the Last Girl”) that would have been at home on Louder Than Bombs. On This Gift, Paterson’s riffs pay homage to Johnny Marr (“Iodine,” “The Bell”). Producer Bernard Butler (ex-Suede) even arranged for Paterson to play one of Marr’s 12-string guitars during the recording sessions. Rather than feeling like a rip-off, the guitar parts fit neatly into the album’s overall package (a gift, if you will), which is one that should stand up well to repeated listens.

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