No Hope, No Future

Man, you have to feel sorry for Good Shoes’ lead singer Rhys Jones. After undergoing what was apparently a pretty harsh break-up, the band’s second record, the cheerily titled No Hope No Future (yeah, you caught that too?) is all about having a broken heart. It’s not all downbeat stuff, though: the band’s dedication to the jerky-pop-fuzz genre is as strong as ever – the songs sound like XTC on, well, drugs. Recorded in garden sheds, bedrooms and mate’s studios, No Hope No Future comes off a bit like a grittier Wombats. But while ‘Under Control’ and ‘The Way My Heart Beats’ are storming indie songs, we don’t see Good Shoes doing big things commercially speaking any time soon.