Press

If we have one criticism for Oedipus and the Mama’s Boys, it is that their name is filled with grammatical landmines. I pity the poor promoter who tries to put them on a poster without a proper spellchecker. But they should, because ‘A Daisy For You, John’ is a multi-part Odessey that feels like an intoxicating fever dream, journeying from gentle balladry to furious jazz rock in a blistering 6 and a bit minutes.

The advent of Black Country, New Road has led to bolder, wackier combinations of neo folk and psychedelia, without which the likes of this Edinburgh octet might not exist. Or, at the very least, might not be given a look in. But look you should.  You’ll hear dozens of ideas coalescing into a strange and potent mix. This song, and this band, are not merely a collection of odd instruments and great ideas. They’re a swarming, unhinged masterpiece.

Edinburgh eight-piece Oedipus and the Mama’s Boys shared a new expansive track ‘A Daisy For You, John’ last week. It’s a wild, unpredictable number that’s full of colliding textures and tones – shifting from the intimate and beautiful to the epic and heavy. It’s an ambitious and endlessly compelling creation that details the grief of losing a close family member – featuring saxophone, violin, drums, synth, guitar and bass, with a cathartic lead vocal over it. Raw, experimental and fiercely original, watch out for this band.

Talking about grief is never easy. But some songs manage to do exactly that, turning loss into something tangible that can be held in your hands, confronted and perhaps even celebrated. A Daisy for You, John is one of them.

The third single from Oedipus & The Mama’s Boys was born out of a recent loss: the death of John Gates, Charlie’s grandfather and a key figure in his relationship with music. I found myself relating to that loss in a very personal way. When my own grandmother passed away, I experienced something similar to what this song describes: sadness slowly giving way to gratitude for the years we shared, and the certainty that some memories never really leave us.

The song stretches across almost seven minutes, and within that time it feels like three different pieces unfolding. It begins as atmospheric, ethereal post-punk, built around hypnotic riffs that layer on top of one another as the instruments gradually enter the frame: violin, saxophone, trumpet and synthesiser. The crescendo is slow and deliberate, almost cinematic, evoking the same sense of emotional grandeur found in Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Mogwai. Then the vocals erupt and everything shifts. The song takes on an almost physical intensity, with the trumpet taking centre stage and the vocal delivery becoming increasingly urgent. Eventually, the composition starts to dissolve once more, as guitars, horns and percussion collide in a whirlwind of noise and tension. At one point, a telephone rings. Then the line falls silent, like a call that will never be answered. It is one of the song’s most devastating moments, and it doesn’t need words to achieve that effect.

That same mixture of pain and affection runs through the lyrics. There is a repetitive quality to them, almost mantra-like, that recalls the emotional intensity of Maruja. Repetition is not used here as a stylistic device but as a way of holding on to something that is slipping away. As the voice repeats “I told you I don’t mind” over and over again, the song stops feeling like an elegy and becomes something closer to a declaration of unconditional love.

Oedipus & The Mama’s Boys do not soften that pain or try to turn it into a lesson. They allow it to grow until it envelops everything. By the time the song reaches its conclusion, the meaning behind it becomes clear: some goodbyes hurt so much because, at their core, they are an immense expression of love.

Edinburgh’s eight-piece band Oedipus & The Mama’s Boys have shared their new single ‘A Daisy For You, John’.

It's encouraging to see emerging bands still willing to be ambitious, pushing beyond the industry's increasingly rigid expectations around song length. Some of the most exciting debut releases in recent years have arrived in sprawling, unconventional forms, from Fat Dog's seven-minute debut single King of the Slugs to Black Country, New Road's eight-minute breakthrough Sunglasses. Now, Oedipus & The Mama's Boys can be added to that list, delivering a bold six-minute epic that prioritises artistic expression over streaming-era conventions.

While traces of the aforementioned artists can be heard throughout Oedipus & The Mama's Boys' sound, they have carved out a musical identity that feels distinctly their own. Fresh, unpredictable and genuinely exciting.

Released on 5th June, the track is built from layers of carefully placed instrumentation and unpredictable shifts in mood, A Daisy For You, John constantly threatens to collapse under its own weight. Instead, it achieves something remarkable: transforming chaos into catharsis.

Oedipus & The Mama’s Boys have already built a reputation as one of Scotland’s most captivating live acts, sharing stages with Hotel Lux, Legss, Thumper and Joe & The Shit Boys, while selling out Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s and making a memorable impression at Glasgow’s King Tut’s. If this single is any indication, their growing reputation is entirely justified.

A Daisy For You, John is not an easy listen, nor is it intended to be. It demands attention, patience and investment. Yet for those willing to immerse themselves in its turbulent world, the reward is one of the most striking releases to emerge from Scotland’s underground scene this year.

Edinburgh's eight-piece Oedipus & The Mama's Boys have released 'A Daisy For You, John', a sprawling, near seven-minute track that pulls raw post-punk energy through experimental noise rock, folk and grunge and comes out the other side as something truly cathartic. It shifts and evolves constantly, weaving dissonant textures and bursts of visceral energy with moments of unexpected beauty. Written by Gemima and Charlie, it's a tribute to Charlie's late grandfather John, the man who first made them fall in love with music. The grief sits right at the centre, and the song carries it without flinching. Tastemaker support for the band has come from So Young, Hideous Magazine and God Is In The TV, while a rambunctious live reputation has earned them slots alongside Hotel Lux, Heavyskint, Joe & The Sh-t Boys and others. Last week they headlined Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh and The Elephants Head in London. Oedipus & The Mama's Boys belong to a growing scene of groups experimenting with brass, punk, jazz, folk, noise rock and grunge, a sound we caught glimpses of at The Great Escape. For an intense and chaotic journey, we highly recommend giving this a listen

Oedipus and the Mamma’s Boys then struggled to fit onto Sleazys’ stage, but with their eight-strong lineup they certainly packed a punch musically, the fairly complex arrangements being ably handled by the band and the guys on sound (Nick and another chap, BM believes). With the usual indie band instrumental lineup supplemented by horn, sax, fiddle and further guitar they came across a bit like phase one era Arcade Fire, singer/guitarist Charlie full of fury in the first couple of numbers (the “drugs” song, for example) before a duet (‘Stretched/Kitchens’) with bassist Jemima showed a more subtle side to their sound. The latter part of the set had more of a mariachi flavour to it (well, an Edinburgh version anyway) as they repeatedly urged the crowd to get dancing.

During the last couple of numbers (starting with ‘Matches Down’?) the use of electronic backing across the general din was pretty devastatingly effective, at least to these ears, adding to the furious wigout of guitar feedback. Last song (which may have been called ‘Kill Bill’!) gave the audience a chance to shout the chorus, also a “sit down, stand up” routine which probably got people moving a bit more – this could have been chaotic, and frequently seemed to be going that way but the band have the flexibility as musicians to keep it together. It only looks as though two of the tracks played are out in the wild (BM thinks Charlie did mention something about a new album, and they are playing Edinburgh Banshee Labyrinth in a couple of weeks). Anyway, BM was hugely impressed – miss them at your peril!

Oedipus and The Mamas Boys set the record for the largest band I have seen on the Tuts stage coming in at eight members. Their sound and energy however are just as large the band. Similar to my recent review of San Jose it’s a hard sound to pin down to a genre, enough jazz to be psychedelic but not really, a hint of Americana thrown in maybe? Fat White Family meets Fat Dog.

Whatever it is, it’s incredibly fun. Their new single ‘Stretched/Kitchens’ was to be released at midnight and the band disagree on whether that counts as tonight or tomorrow. It starts with a rare tender and quiet period before building into an emotional and noiseful crescendo. It was one of those sets that ended with a buzz of people who were excited to have just found their new favourite band.

...Next up it was a hotly anticipated set from the gloriously rambunctious Oedipus and the Mamas Boy on the eve of the release of their second single Stretched/Kitchens, the follow up to their remarkable debut Bleed which appears on the New Sound of Scotland CD currently in production. The band are an enigma of sorts in that the music they produce almost defies description, in a good way of course. Their performance on the tightly packed Tuts stage was one of finely controlled chaos with 8 musicians on stage – with 2 guitars, a bass, fiddle, synth, saxophone, trumpet and drums, add to that effects pedals galore and you had the makings of something pretty damned special. There is something about the band that has me recalling gigs of old by the likes of Fat White Family and The Blinders, such is the intensity to the bands sound, one that gives an impression that things could explode at any point, and indeed they did on several occasions, and none more so than on their epic new single, the aforementioned Stretched/Kitchens, kicking off with gentle vocals from Gemima backed by Charlie against a backdrop of an empathetic minimalistic arrangement of melancholic fiddle and guitar/bass before the song explodes into a beautifully discordant melee, like the release of fervent pent up energy, while Gemima and Charlie’s vocals shone though the glorious noise. And that was the band just getting warmed up, the rest of their set was a celebration of everything that is great about seeing young bands passionate about their music ply trade in grassroots venues, with Charlie and Co. throwing everything into their performance, including forays into the crowd and distributing glow sticks, they were hyperactive to the max as they performed riotous versions of H.O.T.S. and Cowboy Song before the perfect closing salvo of the chant-along Free My Body Up and Kill Bill. Get along to an Oedipus show at the earliest opportunity, trust me you'll thank me later.