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Blood Red Shoes: Box of Secrets

10th April 2008 | by Aidan Williamson

It's difficult to imagine how bands captured the sense of excitement before the arrival of dual vocalists. After all, does the average person on the street prefer to be preached to, or rather, to overhear somebody else's rather juicy conversation?

Blood Red Shoes come to us via Brighton, England in the form of duo Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter. The former takes drums and vocals, the latter, guitar and vocals. So then, who shall we compare them to, let's see, a duo consisting of a male and female. Choices, choices.

Safe to say, The White Stripes influence is not felt here, no matter how hard you try to shoehorn it in. Turning their collective noses up at the self-important British guitar scene, they vehemently proclaim themselves as punk, pulling in influence from Fugazi, (who doesn't) Sonic Youth and The Pixies. Personally we thought they sounded like an artsy amalgamation of Young Heart Attack and the more trashy-era Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Energy seems to be the quality that the duo both infuse, and wish to be extracted. Despite the two-piece set-up, the overall sound never sounds spacious, eschewing (for the most part) the usual double-tracking that most duos opt for. Carter plays her guitar like a revved-up sports car with a blown exhaust pipe. They walk a fine line between art-rock and indecipherable noise, but the majority of the time their feet are planted firmly on the more desirable side of the line.

The flurried vocal sparring provide the highlights of the album, when one or the other take sole vocal duties, they lose their je ne sais quoi. Although sacrifices must be made in the name of diversity, this one seems to carry too steep a price. Depth as well, seems to be something considered only as an afterthought. Lyrics seek to energise, rather than to inspire, focusing greatly on what everyone else around them is doing wrong, often in the form of perpetually repeated catchphrases.

In terms of providing a pumped-up evening of fun, Blood Red Shoes will likely prove true to their name, but some people may not be interested in one night stands.

Rating:  7 / 10