It hardly seems like a year has passed since the mysterious and much anticipated debut album from The Son(s) appeared to an expectant crowd of bloggers who seemed to have been talking about it for a very long time. In that year, having lived with the record through good times and bad, there are songs which have stood the test of longevity with ease, and most often it's those which were perhaps the more downbeat on that otherwise glossy slice of pop perfection which have aged best of all. Way back then I hinted at a touch of Americana in those more wistful, considered pieces on the record - and interestingly considering it's birth in a frozen Edinburgh winter, its hard to find a mention of "Leviathan" which doesn't make some passing hint towards America. This is I suspect, because we just don't make this kind of wide-screen, technicolour music here between our cramped, uneasily polite shores. But if last years debut was the sound of the self-assured west coast, this is the Midwest of broken and deserted places. The glamour here is faded and bitterly contemplating its grand past at the bar, and there are moments where the near-anonymous vocalist and multi-instrumentalist K.P.Son sounds worn down by life and heavily burdened by experience. In short this is another side to The Son(s) which we've perhaps only glimpsed so far. And it's nothing short of wonderful to behold.
Beginning with bright guitar chords and swooning backing vocals, "Roaring Round The House" relates a tale of battening down the hatches and hiding from the world over an incongruously optimistic musical backrdrop. As the tune shuffles gracefully into its stride, I find myself drawing comparisons with The Pernice Brothers quietly soulful finest moments. The songs here are on the whole, surprisingly brief affairs which manage to span a dizzying range of styles and instruments. Delighting in one of the finest song titles yet coined, "If I Hear You Talk Apostrophes Again..." is a wholly different beast. A relentlessly pummelling bassline and knife-sharp guitar slashes support a menacingly troubled Son, apparently out for revenge. It's all swaggering, bravado and implied threat hovering just out of the picture. After a keening guitar solo which has arrived directly from late 70s AM radio, the song closes with a malevolent chant of "When I'm king, you're first against the wall...". There is a return to the shimmering beauty of that debut album on "Cocksure Boys", where Son croons through a tale of the kind of man "who likes taking things apart/but can't put 'em back together". A plucked ukelele, dabs of brass and exotic percussion build the kind of detailed, lovingly constructed soundscape which made The Sons(s) eponymous debut an absolute must-hear on it's release.
Some kind of accommodation is achieved with "Half Lived" where the cracked Americana collides with assured, slick classic rock sounds to produce a slowly simmering anthem of frustration and dismay. Peppered with echoing guitar breaks and swathes of atmospheric keyboard, it's hard not to imagine this soundtracking a lonely night-time driving scene in the movie for which this should undoubtedly be the soundtrack. The more downbeat "Shot Out A Cannon" is a perfect showcase for the range and fractured beauty of the vocals, which climb to seemingly unscalable heights around a sparse arrangement which ebbs and flows gently from the song. Mercurial and lyrically complex, this is the longest piece on the record by virtue of an extended instrumental end section centred on flecks of simple but very effective guitar. By "There Is No-one To Thank" Son sounds redeemed, in control and with his resignation channelled into a bitterness which suits this brief, mostly acoustic finale. Gut-wrenchingly sorrowful guitar lines twine around the vocals, as finally a gentle glockenspiel seems to tap out the closing theme from "We Have All The Time In The World". This is music as last refuge in the style of Mark Eitzel, and as such it is painfully lovely - and so this all too brief EP ends with a tense ache and a sonic shrug of the shoulders as you reach for the bottle and hit play once again.
It's inspiring to hear the progression that "Leviathan" demonstrates, seeing The Son(s) comfortably growing into their unique, layered and detailed sound. But there is a darker twist to the raw material behind these songs, and a sense of disenchantment and regret which lingers around them. For us though this is no bad thing - and while it sounds somewhat uncharitable perhaps, Son's loss is our gain in the form of these six wonderfully crafted, slightly bleak compositions.
The Son(s) - There Is No-One To Thank
The "Leviathan EP" is released by Olive Grove Records on 7th May. Meanwhile you can download a free track from the EP from Soundcloud.
Back at the start of the year, I set out a list of possible trips for the first few months of the year. The plan was to travel as much as possible before the long blockade descended and weekend travel became tricky. I turned back to this list this weekend as time crept on, and a combination of indecision, long working days and the Cheltenham Festival made booking to get to the East Lancs Diesel Gala all but impossible. One of these plans was a trip out to London the usual way, then back via the former London & South Western route out of Waterloo to Exeter. As it happened, I'd covered much of the route piecemeal on my Laverstock trip and when pottering around on a rover. However, I'd still not done the trip in it's entirety and thought it was worth another visit since my last excursion was marred by being consigned to the vestibule due to a busy train and a botched change at Salisbury.
Made the customary early trip up to London, with the ubiquitous Mr Spinks along for the ride. No firm plans on how to spend the time in London prior to the trip back, but had a few suggestions which we talked over during a fine breakfast on the way up. Good to be doing this bit of the journey in daylight and indeed in very promising weather. Settled on a plan to attempt to cover the new bits of Docklands Light Railway and then work back over a couple of South London branches. These were largely decided by Mr Spinks making a critical analysis of my Baker atlas and pointing out bits which hadn't been done! The first winning track of the day was scored entirely by accident however. Made a snap decision to do the Circle line via Kings Cross rather than Victoria to get to Tower Hill. This looked like a bad idea - there were more trains heading south than north at Paddington, but eventually we set off. Shortly after leaving Kings Cross the driver announced that due to a failed train on the District side, we'd be terminating at Moorgate. Speculated briefly about the bay platforms, before feeling the train lurch over crossovers to reach the bay platform. As we headed over to the through platforms for the next service to Tower Hill, noted a good few passengers still sitting patiently waiting on the terminated service! Soon arrived at Tower Hill, and after a brief detour to see the gateway at St. Olave's church, we headed for the recently reopened and remodelled DLR station at Tower Gateway.
We ended up waiting some time for a train from Tower Gateway, and noted some fairly strange manoeuvres at the junction with the Bank lines. Spent the time watching 357s departing from Fenchurch Street, before heading off. A fairly quick change at Shadwell onto a Woolwich train, then settled in for the always entertaining ride though the eastern fringe of the city and out into the wide-open spaces and towering buildings of Docklands. Soon heading out of King George V station and descending steeply into a deep tunnel which led us to the new terminus at Woolwich Arsenal. A quick grapple with Oyster readers before heading onto the mainline platforms. From here the plan was to head to London Bridge, hopped onto the next 376 and enjoyed the busy scenes as we made steady progress towards the capital. Disembarked and consulted the departure screens. The next plan was to cover one of the bits of track which came under Mr Spinks' scrutiny - the route to Ladywell via Lewisham. My trip to Hayes had used the direct line avoiding the station, so we made the brief trip out to the suburbs and enjoyed a few minutes wait in the sunshine before heading back, this time via the avoiding route. A quick bite to eat, then over to the terminal platforms to get the almost-circular service to Victoria via Crystal Palace. This covered the 'Down Sydenham Spur' - the flyover crossing the mainline and leading to Crystal Palace. I wasn't sure if I'd missed inking this track or hadn't done it - but for the sake of completeness and since Mr Spinks needed it, we did the train into Victoria via Balham.
We now made a fairly swift switch, back out to Clapham Junction then into Waterloo - with a brief stop to watch the multitude of services passing. Narrowly avoided catching a class 456 for the second time today, as these elusive units appeared to be lurking in the platforms we expected to use but (perhaps thankfully) were not the stock for our trains! Shopped for refreshments at Waterloo before making our way to the platform for our somewhat epic journey west. Once out of Waterloo we made rapid progress without stopping in the suburbs. The weather was bright and the sunshine through the windows was warm. I'll admit some drowsy moments as we sped through the countryside which seemed to be waking after a chilly winter. After Salisbury, things slowed and we made our way via the cruelly singled line, which has so much more potential than it was afforded by the bad planning of British Rail. Good loadings and busy little stations all the way along the route showed that the plans for an hourly service are surely well justified. The long trip west flew by as I enjoyed the quiet and calm of this route and had more than one little nap in the afternoon sunshine!
Disembarked well over three hours later at Exeter St. Davids and walked around the station trying to get our reluctant knees working again! Had a glance at the depot in the sunset and waited with a small clutch of Bradford City fans for the Crosscountry HST to roll in. After the stately progress on the L&SW route, the run up to Taunton felt very speedy. A quick change and then back into Highbridge on time. An interesting and varied day out with some new track, a variety of traction and some contrasting routes covered. This is exactly why I spend so much time on the rails.
Puzzled to distraction by recent revalations and future possibilities. Woke late after an excellent sleep, but couldn't settle to usual Sunday chores. Tended to cat as planned, and then hurried to the station, having decided to bring forward the trip to Exeter via the diversionary route, taking in Westbury, Castle Cary and Cogload Junction.
Some amazing weather (between showers) made the journey outwards across the Somerset levels quite picturesque. First decent length journey on a Class 220 too, and despite the usual problems of seats not lining up with windows and so on, I was much impressed. Decent legroom too! Will be spending much longer on a Voyager or Super Voyager if Virgin ever deliver tickets for Wednesday!
Misdirected by a Virgin employee at Exeter St. Davids who disagreed with the information display and its view of the train formation. Rather busier on the return, but equally pleasant journey. Read a great deal to prevent difficult thinking - finishing 'The Mayor of Casterbridge' on the journey.
Later, invited for home made pizza and given a rather good bottle of wine in return for my cat feeding assistance. Its been an odd weekend of disquietening thinking and pleasant events. I need to do ironing. Back to earth with a bump...
Straight from work to Bath by train. Feeling melancholy, which makes me desperately bad company all night. Manage to make a reasonably happy occasion quite bleak. Sorry.
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
