Blood Red Shoes are an alt-rock two piece hailing from Brighton. The band consists of Laura-Mary Carter on guitar and Steven Ansell on drums. BRS are coming off of their successful ‘In Time to Voices’ album of which Carter said ‘we figured the best way to push ourselves forward was to write the best possible songs and melodies we could…’.
The duos’ new three song EP ‘Water’ shows BRS is continuing to push and experiment with their sound. The most noticeable tweak on ‘Water’ is Carter’s guitar which sounds a little dirtier but still brings the strong melodic and rocking riffs fans of BRS have come to expect.
The EP kicks off with ‘Red River’ which quickly cranks up the tempo with their high-powered Rock. Laura-Mary has lead vocals and starts the song echoing ‘Take me back home…’. This catchy song highlights Carter’s fuzzy guitar melody which soars angrily over Ansell’s driving beat. All three songs on ‘Water’ are short and sweet. Each track clocking in at less than three and a half minutes. Few musical passages are expanded upon on the EP. The tracks are in your face and rapid fire.
Next ‘Black Distractions’ has a ballsy riff which grabs your attention as Ansell sings the eerily evocative ‘When you close your eyes/ I’ll be there to…/ Summon the devil inside of you…’. The track sounds sharp and jagged at times like some of White Stripes’ more powerful and unsettling moments. Thanks BRS, now I’ll have to sleep with one eye open gripping my pillow tight…
The final track on ‘Water’ is the hard driving ‘Idle Hands’. Once again Steven sings an emotional lead vocals with Laura-Mary providing an intriguing and haunting backing vocal. The song has a climactic, energetic feel and leaves you wanting more as the EP ends.
‘Water’ provides a condensed and accessible taster of what Blood Red Shoes create : strong melodic rocking songs. The EP is short (under 10m total playing time) but adds three rugged quality songs to the BRS‘ catalogue. ‘Water’ keeps pace with BRS‘ highly energetic sound while pushing in a slightly grittier direction and certainly wets the appetite for a future BRS full-length release.
Released 21st January 2012 through V2.
Posted by Dave Guzda.
