Sons and Daughters

It took some remarkably diverse backgrounds to conjure up Sons And Daughters, the curious Scottish quartet that—on its Domino debut Love The Cup—sounds like Wild Gift-era X on Cramps steroids. Before forming, bassist Ailidh Lennon worked as a music promoter; guitarist/vocalist Scott Patterson punched the clock at a record shop; and co-crooner Adele Bethel did triple duty as film student, library assistant and backup singer for the decadent Arab Strap. But drummer David Gow—who also toured with the Strap before inviting Bethel into S&D—can claim the weirdest occupation by far: Environmental Artist. “It’s not so big over in the States,” he says, before opening a recent U.S. show for his buddies Franz Ferdinand. “But in the U.K. you’ll be driving through the countryside and see these huge installations.” His masterstroke? “A bronze and sandstone cast of me in my underpants, ten feet tall, that I was commissioned to do by Falkirk Council, where I grew up,” he swears, straight-faced. His bandmates gasp—they haven’t heard this story before. “It was going to be on this famous wall, so I had to get approval from the historical society and everything, and I spent months of my life organizing it.” What happened? Gow sighs. “Funding fell through. At the last moment, they spent all the money on fireworks.”