Once ‘This Gift’ finally sees the light of day in early 2008, it’ll have been three years since fans heard new material from the four-piece. In today’s world, unless you’re a band like Guns ‘N Roses, three years can seem like a lifetime and can often cripple a band’s career. But after a particularly gruelling tour schedule, Adele and the rest of the group (drummer and co-founder David Gow, multi-instrumentalist Ailidh Lennon and guitarist Scott Paterson) needed some time off to recharge.
“To be honest we were completely burnt out once we finished touring,” she confesses. “We were all just totally wiped out. We released ‘Love The Cup’ through Domino in 2004, then the next year ‘The Repulsion Box’ came out and we just never stopped. I think if we hadn’t taken time off I would’ve gone insane. It can be hard sometimes on your mind as well as your body and I don’t think people realise that. For example, at the moment we’ve been on the road for four and a half weeks and I’ve had three days off.”
But it wasn’t just the rigours of touring and living in each others pockets that wore Adele out, it was the constant spectre of ‘The Repulsion Box’ looming in the background whenever they tried to write some new music.
“It took us a while to get away from that album. We spent two years living it out every night onstage and it was hard to escape in a way. We don’t write songs when we’re on the road so we were starting with a blank sheet and because we were all so determined to change how we made music, it took us a while to break away from what we did in the past. The previous record was a lot louder and nosier than anything we’ve ever done so we needed to rethink what we were doing and it’s all worked out well in the end.”
In many ways it’s probably a blessing in disguise that Sons And Daughters took a self-imposed sabbatical for a short while. Although they have a huge cult following and gained glowing reviews along the way, they never seemed to quite click with the average music fan in the same way as fellow Scots such as Idlewild or Franz Ferdinand have. People were confused as to what kind of band they were and that resulted in their first two albums being criminally over-looked.
“We’re one of those bands that are hard to pin down,” says the singer. “In the past I’ve read reviews of our gigs that compare us to bands that are a million miles removed from us. I think that confuses a lot of people and they expected to hear a different band than they were getting. This time around people will finally get what we’re all about.”
As the front-woman in Sons And Daughters, Adele obviously attracts most of the attention, but it’s not something that she consciously seeks out. Onstage she’s as provocative and fiery as they come, but in private she’s much quieter than her public persona would suggest.
“I hate getting my photo taken and making videos. I don’t enjoy it one bit. I even get nervous doing interviews and I don’t like putting myself out there like that. I know that when I’m performing onstage you would probably think differently of me but that’s not who I am. I see it as acting in many ways. When I put on my stage clothes and I’ve a microphone in my hand I’m someone else.”
From our chat with Adele, it becomes clear that Sons And Daughters are a band in every sense of the word. They’re fiercely protective of each other, seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company (so much so that Adele and Scott live together) and they look out for one another when things go wrong.
“We have an ‘us against the world’ vibe,” says Adele. “We really are like a wee gang. I’ve known David since we were in Arab Strap together, I live with Scott and I’ve known Ailidh for years. I think this feeling of loyalty and friendship is what has kept us together through everything and I hope we continue this band for as long as possible.”
As AU finishes up our interview to let Adele nurse a hangover and tackle the rather unglamorous task of washing her clothes, talk turns to what she hopes the future may hold for her and her three friends. There’s no doubting that she’s extremely proud of her band and rightly so. Sons And Daughters make the kind of music that is as raw as an open wound and as subtle as a hammer in the face. Their captivating male/female vocals and knack for telling the best murder ballads this side of Nick Cave has attracted them quite a bit of attention in the past and their effortless yet iconic sense of style is as eye-catching as they come. So with album number three under the belts and a new-found confidence in their abilities, our money is on Sons And Daughters to finally make the strides they’ve long been threatening to in the forthcoming twelve months.
“I feel like we’re on the brink of something monumental,” she concludes. “I don’t know how to explain it but I think next year everything is going to change for us in a big way. I think that the time is right for a band like us. You know that feeling you get on New Year’s Eve where you know that nothing will be the same again in 12 months time? Well I have that at the moment and I can’t wait to see what happens. I’ve got nothing but excited thoughts and high hopes in my head. Our next tour in February can’t come fast enough.”
Words_Edwin McFee
This article first appeared in AU 43, January 2008
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