Good Shoes The Stags Head, London 22/1/10
4/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
Noughties pop menaces Good Shoes are returning with a new a,lbum and far from the balcony strewn summit of the Astoria, the band have done what every decent, hard workin’, young things should be doing, and rolled into some nasty pub in the arse-end of London.
It’s a real rarity to have a band like Good Shoes playing a dive like The Stags Heads in Shoreditch, but a rather well respected move, with fans packing out three consecutive nights in the dusty old back room. There’s little sense of hype or buzz around the shows, but there’s plenty of fan attention and a gentle howl from the audience as ‘All In My Head’ triggers a shaky-footed opening to the set.
‘Never Meant To Hurt You’ rolls along into ‘Small Town Girl’, the band’s Cure-like melody and choppy, sarcastic wit fumbling out of the track’s catchier-than-fook chorus, but it’s new stunner ‘Under Control’ that fires some thunder into the set list. “Does anybody have any pictures of female bodybuilders?”, Rhys asks the troublingly inert crowd before the recent single settles in with an unashamed indie-schmindie flare of dazzling pop, giving more than just a flicker of hope for their new LP. It’s typically uncomplicated Good Shoes pop of course, and that’s just fine with us.
An animated ‘Morden’ ends the show, Rhys awkwardly hopping around the intimate venue with a faraway look of attentiveness, still working – after several years of making radio-friendly pop under his belt – to turn the audience into a crowd. It’s all over far too quickly, as good things often are, and last thoughts become wrestling images of what Good Shoes will accomplish from the new album. Good luck Good Shoes.
Artists in this article: Good Shoes
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