box of secrets.

Ask someone to name their favourite band that consists of one boy and one girl and you’ll probably get The White Stripes. Ask again after Blood Red Shoes’ album ‘Box Of Secrets’ hits shops this spring and you’ll probably get the same answer. This is extremely unfortunate as this debut album is already one of my favourites.

Both Laura (guitars) and Steve (drums) share vocal duties in the most complimentary manner. At times they sound incredibly similar, especially when yelping away.

‘Try Harder’ works itself into a frenzy in just under four minutes, building and building the sheer brilliance. I think my favourite track is ‘I Wish I Was Someone Better’. It twists and turns and is that bit faster paced than the other tracks on the album. And then there’s the “ooh ooh” bits everyone loves. ‘ADHD’ shows just how well only drums and one guitar can work. With almost terrifying shouts, the pair express their frustration for all to see. You can practically imagine the exclamations appearing out of thin air above their heads after every word: “I! Can’t! Concentrate! On! Any! Thing! At! All!”. ‘This Is Not For You’ is surely going to be a single. It’s absolutely brilliantly fantastic. It’s a little quieter than the rest of their discography but they make up for it with bucket loads of malevolence. ‘Forgive Nothing’ captures the Blood Red Shoes sound perfectly with grungy guitars, tons and tons of cymbal bashing and a sense of something dark simmering beneath the surface.

I don’t have any qualms with any of the polished up demos/’I’ll Be Your Eyes’ EP tracks and the new songs stick to Blood Red Shoes’ recognisable sound.
I’m 100% excited to see them on their forthcoming tour and wish I was going to more than one date. I don’t even mind forfeiting my attendance to the free Vice Tour featuring Black Kids and Friendly Fires.

This album is an absolute must-have and Blood Red Shoes are an absolute must-see band.

Blood Red Shoes - This Is Not For You [YSI]
Blood Red Shoes - ADHD [YSI]