Sons Of Bill are an indie rock band from Charlottesville in North Carolina, and despite Oh God Ma’am being their fifth full album, they’re still yet to attract the attention that they deserve.

By Jane Howkins

The band’s music is probably best described as indie rock, although it’s indie in more of a dream pop way, rather than in a guitar band sense. Their music is dreamy, with each track focused on creating a certain atmosphere, guiding the album along like a boat down a still river. Oh God Ma’am is a little different from Sons Of Bill’s previous work. For one, it has been entirely self-produced, with the band also opting for a more celestial and ethereal sound. You can clearly hear that they’ve been alloted a bit more individuality and time to spend making the record (probably in part due to them releasing it themselves), and it really shows, with the album sounding a little more indulent than fans may be used to.

For the most part, the majority of the tracks here are down tempo, so if that’s not your bag then you probably won’t enjoy this.Nevertheless, it marks a definite progression for the band, and there are some uptempo songs present, although they are few and far between. These tracks aren’t quite anthemic, but there is a similar quality present to them, hinting that Sons Of Bill might perhaps be able to finally hit the big time with this.

Oh God Ma’am is an interesting and progressive record, albeit one that does take quite a bit of listening to to finally get into. It’s great to hear the band trying new things, but we understand that older fans may not quite get this at first – persevere though, and you’ll find much to love.