Blood Red Shoes - You Bring Me Down (Abeano / Drowned In Sound)
4/5
By: Chris Pratt
Hot on the heels of their biggest performance to date, supporting Panic! At The Disco at the gargantuan Brixton Academy, Brighton's premier two-piece are back with yet another addition to their growing collection of pitch-perfect 45s. After releasing one single for the highly-regarded Jonson Family Recordings and two for Youthmovies' Try Harder imprint, 'You Bring Me Down' is a joint venture, with Drowned In Sound handling the digital download version and Abeano (the label offshoot of indie 'super-club' Frog) on 7" duties.
The majority of Blood Red Shoes' previous efforts have seen vocal contributions split fairly equally between guitarist Laura Mary Carter and drummer Steve Ansell, but here Carter takes the lead with a spot-on performance that is equal parts pop and paranoia. Lyrically it's dark and foreboding stuff -'nothing can't stop this creeping fear'', sings Carter with near-tangible desperation - but the itchy rhythms and melodies provide a shrewdly up-tempo contrast, making jubilant bee-lines for the feet and heart respectively.
As Ansell's spitfire snare drum rolls and Carter's lean, mean guitar parts rub up against some truly killer hooks, it's nice to take a moment to consider just how much the pair have grown in confidence and ability over the course of their short existence. Whereas earlier songs provided a relatively seamless transition from previous bands such as Cat On Form in their uncompromising, off-kilter noisiness, BRS have since blossomed into an über-disciplined, indie-pop power-duo, intent on making the best music they possibly can. The only downside is that they haven't announced details for an album yet. Hurry up!
Artists in this article: Blood Red Shoes
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