Sons and Daughters – Mirror Mirror

Sons and Daughters’ third full length release sees the Glasgow four-piece abandon the glitz of 2008’s This Gift, and step back into a familiar darkness. Former Suede man Bernard Butler didn’t so much twiddle the knobs three years ago as totally recast the band as a 1960s girl group, which, although passable, glossed over their rougher, infinitely more fascinating edges.

Mirror Mirror pretends that record didn’t happen, taking the terse, edgy rhythms of predecessor The Repulsion Box – along with the dumped duelling boy/girl dynamic of old – and moving the sound into a more atmospheric space. The results reward repeated listens – all spooky electronics, post-punk bass lines, meaty hooks and blacker than midnight lyrics. Produced by Keith McIvor –aka Optimo’s JD twitch – Orion features the driving, country-esque drums of old, coupled with a dark new groove and a great vocal from Adele Bethel.

The Beach allows Scott Paterson to return the melodic favour and the wonderfully sinister Ink Free adds the neat little touch of a sampled typewriter as drum machine. Occasionally, the gothic style gets a little much, most notably on Silver Spell and Don’t Look Now (remember that Irn Bru advert?), though Mirror Mirror is otherwise as poised, affecting and brilliant as everything Sons and Daughters first promised. [PJ Meiklem]