Three seconds into listening to this and I was bouncing around my room like a rubber ball, my heart pounding with joy, determined to form a band. The repetitive delta stomp drum lines, the menacing voodoo guitar riffs and the thundering bass recall a little of labelmates Clinic and a lot of 80s psych-freaks Spacemen 3 (a band that also shared Sons And Daughters' love of the late Johnny Cash), who are pretty much the two coolest bands in the world that you could be influenced by, but the dynamic that operates between Scott Paterson's deep Scottish drawl and Adele Bethel's more melodic and emotional (but equally Scottish) intonation is what gives the seven songs on this mini album the kick they need to reach escape velocity. All these elements combine most powerfully on the monstrous rave up "Johnny Cash" (yeah, they're influenced by him, I know) but the subtler "La Lune" runs a close second, combining the same Spacemen 3, "Revolution" bassline with an ominous mandolin backdrop and slowly building squalls of edgy violins. Menacing, shit-kicking, cool-as-fuck rock and roll. -Ian Martin, Jul.27.04.

Love The Cup