Posted on: August 30, 2012 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The way that Sons and Daughters start off their “Repulsion Box” is far and away one of the best ways to get individuals to listen in. “Medicine” is a straight-forward rock track (with more than its fair share of punk influence) that will cause any listener to focus in and devote eirself to the music completely, even as their body bounces to the beat. Sons and Daughters do not let the thrill associated with their punk leanings fade, as the rockabilly sound gets some serious airtime during “Red Receiver”. While the tempo may be slower on “Red Receiver”, the drum and bass present on the track are more effectual, owing much to their more Spartan arrangement. “Choked” shows yet another side to Sons and Daughters, with the vocals of Adele taking a turn towards Stevie Nicks, as the rest of the band’s music straddling the line between The Outlaws and Uncle Tupelo. The band moves back to the general punkabilly sound of “Red Receiver” for “Monsters”, but maintain a greater cohesion in terms of the Scott/Adele vocal harmonies.

While there are some tracks that just act as placeholders, the intensity present at points during “The Repulsion Box” provide the listening audience a quite valid reason to pick up this box. Such is the case with “Rama Lama”, a track in which Adele’s vocals rapidly become more chaotic, with each subsequent line of lyrics doing more to create the perfect chill up one’s spine. The screamed out “shake, shake, shake, shakes” of Adele are the fitting ending to what was an exercise in perfection. Thirty minutes come and go on “The Repulsion Box”, with the band sounding as energetic and excited as they were during the opening strains of “Medicine”. The band may have toured with Franz Ferdinand in the past but one has to wonder whether Sons And Daughters may just have outshined FF on a number of those dates.

The music contained on “The Repulsion Box” is quick-paced, not at all concerned with fleshing out the tracks contained within, and by and large, Sons and Daughters have found the perfect middle ground for the mixture of filth, fury, and accessibility. Sons and Daughters take the best parts from Tiger Army, The Nekromantix, Bif Naked, Fleetwood Mac and The Doors and make them into a high-octane, carefully-crafted brand of rock that at no point falls into the trap of repetition or trying too hard to please the lowest common denominator. that at no point falls into the trap of repetition or trying too hard to please the lowest common denominator.

Top Tracks: Medicine, Rama Lama

Rating: 7.3/10
Sons and Daughters – The Repulsion Box / 2005 Domino / 10 Tracks / http://www.sonsanddaughtersloveyou.com / http://www.dominorecordco.com/usa / Reviewed 19 July 2005

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