As John Maynard Keynes was quick to point out, the economics of being in a band with around ten members aren’t too healthy.   “You can’t be in it for the money, without recording crass reggae covers of Neil Diamond songs”, he rightly said.  You’ve got to really love what you are doing, and in the case of Brighton’s Sons Of Noel And Adrian, that passion is captured within the dusty grooves of their new self-titled record.

Sons of Noel and Adrian sound like a holy union between Bonnie Prince Billy, Arcade Fire, Nick Drake, Schoenberg and Godspeed.  Their sound is rooted in folk music, and in particular the sea shanty, but blossoms with complex post-rock and classical arrangements.  The centrepiece of the album is the nine minute-long “Damian / Lesson From What’s Poor”, which begins with fingerpicking and muted brass, before people start sawing away at strings and riffing away on guitars, and the benefits of their numbers becomes apparent.  “Ragwort” features a raucous, squealing middle section which sounds a little like the climax to Tindersticks “El Diablo En El Ojo”.  Even the shorter pieces like “Violent Violet” and “The Wreck Is Not A Boat” sound like they are being played upon a lurching ship, so unconventional and dissonant are the noises atop which they are perched.  The latter even features whistling.  I do love a band who aren’t afraid to whistle.  

You can listen to more at SONAA’s myspace page.  Share the love, and redistribute some wealth (seriously, they’ll benefit by around three pence each), by picking up a copy from Shelsmusic.