Blood Red Shoes - Fire Like This
Brighton's heavy pop duo return with second record.
Two years after their debut caused the right kind of stir, Blood Red Shoes return with 'Fire Like This', an album that – on the surface – gives the impression that very little has changed. They clearly knew that their sound didn’t need to change, just take what was there and improve upon it – and that is what this album showcases. The boy/girl vocal dynamic is still there, as is the heavier edge and the ability to pull catchy hooks out of the bag at a moment’s notice. But here, it’s a step above what came before.
It opens with the blistering assault of ‘Don’t Ask’, and works hard not to let your attention stray as the album progresses through numbers as anthemic as ‘Count Me Out’ right through to the epic finale, the Sonic Youth comparison-generator of ‘Colours Fade’. It’s also full of stand-outs and surprises – ‘Heartsink’ is excellent; an infectious hi-hat drives a faster paced song that’s part Dananananaykroyd and part DFA 1979. The guitar tone of ‘Follow The Lines’ will make you wonder if Deftones snuck into the recording studio, before it turns out to be a dancefloor-filling shuffler full of “Woah-oh-oh”s. In short, they keep you guessing, but never present a twist that veers too far from what drew people to the band in the first place. These songs feel as if they have a less mainstream origin that’s been given a pop-sass makeover, like if The Pixies released an album of Subways covers.
For all its ideas, 'Fire Like This' never seems like the band don’t know what they want to be, and maintains their identity. While it doesn’t have the mainstream appeal that would see them rise up to the top of the pack, it’s an album that has the ability to keep every one of their existing fans while offering something for new fans to get their teeth into. We suggest you take a bite.
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