Sons & Daughters
This Gift (Domino)
Reviewed by Marc Savlov, Fri., March 7, 2008
Sons & Daughters
This Gift (Domino)Singer Adele Bethel laments the state of her own emotions with a forthrightness that borders on the schizophrenic, while Scott Paterson's chimey guitar runs rings around both Bethel and the stop-start drum work of David Gow. They oscillate wildly, but "The Nest" reveals partial siring from Phil Spector, in sound if not psyche, while clammy, nervous rockers like the vitriolic kiss-off "Darling" – cribbing its recurring riff from the Stones' "Mother's Little Helper" – veer into outright snark. Add brilliant garage mess-up "Home in My Head" and the poisoned we've-got-a-fuzzbox-and-we're-gonna-use-it petulance of closer "Goodbye Service" (hello Grinderman!), and you're left with an LP's worth of reasons not to piss off Bethel lest she aim scathing, introverted deconstruction of you on the next Sons & Daughters disc. (Wednesday, March 12, Antone's, 11pm.)
