It’s been a long time since I reviewed an album by a guitar band that either didn’t incorporate electronica or, at the other end of the spectrum, opt for a stripped back, folky approach à la Fleet Foxes and Midlake. But to paraphrase Family Guy, where are those good old fashioned indie values on which we used to rely?
Doing their bit for a more old-school approach are Brighton boy-girl duo Blood Red Shoes, whose sound harks back to heroes of the ’90s US underground such as Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Pavement. Unfortunately, they frequently end up getting caught between two stools – they don’t possess the melodic genius of Kurt Cobain, and they don’t have the experimental nous to compete with either the Youth or Steve Malkmus’ mob. As such, too many of the tracks on their self-titled album degenerate into watery, uninspiring dirges – all squalling guitars, thrashing drums and angsty vocals.
Having said that, there are occasional moments when Blood Red Shoes get it right, and they serve up a refreshing blast of no-frills rock action. Regrettably, there aren’t enough such tunes to make the album worthy of anything more than passing interest.