Future Sound: Oedipus And The Mama’s Boys
Our column celebrating new music to watch continues with Edinburgh eight-piece Oedipus And The Mama’s Boys. Proving bigger can be better, they chat to Fiona Shepherd about embracing eclecticism and having no constraints
In these straitened times for musicians, it’s a blast to encounter the power of a big band, where musicianship, camaraderie and sheer sonic firepower trump any desire to hog a bigger cut of the rider. Edinburgh-based octet Oedipus And The Mama’s Boys are one such beast, having grown arms and legs under the benevolent dictatorship of founding singer/guitarist Charlie. Having previously toiled in bands over the years, he lost the spark, took a break, then rekindled his enthusiasm through the trial and error of ‘terrible’ early gigs. ‘This has been a labour of love for me,’ he says. ‘The stabilisers came off about a year ago and I ended up with eight people and quite a lot of emails to answer. In terms of the music, everyone writes their own bits. I just tell people when we’re practicing.’
Hailing from Haddington, he describes himself as ‘circumstantially Scottish’ while he has gathered bandmates from Falkirk, Glasgow and London. The arrival of guitarist Cammy and singer/bassist Gemima boosted the songwriting and vocal capabilities of the line-up, while trumpet/flugelhorn player Hannah brought a level of artistic perspicacity which allowed the group to head off into brave new worlds of exotic time signatures and jazz influences. Add the classical and folk background of violinist/mandolin player/vocalist Alex, who describes the band as ‘mental and experimental’, plus Matty on drums, Nye on sax and Scott on keys and synth, and it’s not surprising that they have attracted comparisons to willfully eclectic Cambridge outfit Black Country, New Road.
‘We don’t impose gated genre boxes on ourselves,’ says Charlie. ‘It was important to start it wide open, to have a platform for it to become something beyond what I could come up with myself. As people joined and left and rejoined, it became a stable line-up with an expansive sound. We’re all good friends first and foremost and not afraid to tell each other if something is crap. We don’t constrain ourselves.’ This might explain the trio of lengthy tracks they’ve released to date: ‘Bleed’, ‘Stretched/Kitchens’ and ‘A Daisy For You, John’, the latter inspired by Charlie’s music-loving grandad and his garden.
By comparison, their cacophonous new single ‘Blood On The Sand’ comes in at a trim five minutes. Alternating from a whisper to a scream, it’s a key portal to understanding the Oedipal impulse. ‘It was the first song I wrote with this bigger band in mind,’ says Charlie. ‘I wrote this stripped-back guitar part which was all about laying down a platform for something a little bigger.’
‘It’s a big punch in the face,’ reckons Cammy. ‘It’s a good one to start when we play gigs because people are watching so many people setting up; you play this song and it’s a wake-up call.’ To date, Oedipus And The Mama’s Boys have bossed the Kelburn Garden Party and House Guest festivals, with Tenement Trail and Sneaky Pete’s all dayers to come as well as more music on the horizon. Though there’ll probably be no more new band members in the foreseeable future. ‘Each time a new person comes in, it’s a breath of fresh air,’ says Cammy. ‘But a ten-person band may be too far.’
Oedipus And The Mama’s Boys play Tenement Trail, Glasgow, Saturday 10 October; General Meeting All Dayer, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Sunday 11 October; Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, Saturday 31 October.