Built around the core of Kila’s Brian Hogan and former Engine Alley drummer, Emmaline Duffy-Fallon, Preachers Son is more than the sum of its parts. With an impressive cast of guest musicians including Gavin Friday, Liam Ó Maonlaoí and Kieran Kennedy, the sound is glam-meets-swamp rock and southern gothic, with hints of everyone from The White Stripes and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion to Lou Reed and, most obviously, Bowie. Not every song here is a duet – but when she does take to the mic Duffy-Fallon’s sweet tones provide a fine foil for Hogan’s dark, deep growl. Their version of ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ (made famous by Dusty Springfield) is almost unrecognisable here, sounding like a twisted murder ballad, crossed with T-Rex’s ‘Children of the Revolution’.
With string arrangements over a languid rock rhythm, ‘Lipstick’ features an explosive Gavin Friday performance, while ‘26 Years’ is an angry, Bowie-esque rocker with biting, break-up sentiments: “Someone must have really hurt you now, to act such a cow.”
‘Born Another Time’ recalls the recent work of Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell; ‘X For Sandra’ could be mistaken for Kylie and Nick re-channelling the spirit of Bowie’s Aladdin Sane while, ‘Should Have Been Gone’ could easily have been included on the recent Plant/Krauss collaboration. All good. This one has potential to run and run.
KEY TRACK: ‘X FOR SANDRA’