Another week, another drums and guitar duo. This week it's Blood Red Shoes (BRS). Oh, and they're a boy / girl team. White Stripes anyone? Unfortunately not! BRS could only dream of doing anything as interesting as Jack and Meg (who I don't even think are that interesting). Where bands such as The White Stripes, Black Keys, Lightning Bolt and even The Sugars have tried to break down, and reassemble the traditional rock n roll template into something new and original, BRS have done absolutely nothing with it.
Don't get me wrong, if you like the type of Indie that has been churned out ever since Ash revealed their mugs, then this is for you as BRS milk that cow drier than a cracker in a desert. It's almost as if they've got an indie rock checklist, they're ticking it off and checking it twice. So we have the boy / girl shouts, the hand claps, the conservatively distorted telecaster, the boy / girl shouts, the hand claps, the conservatively distorted telecaster, over and over, etc, etc.
There's nothing ostensibly offensive about the album, but that says a lot. Each track just bleeds into the next until it becomes a bland bit of background. Simply put it's boring, uninteresting and one dimensional. Ok it may occasionally make you tap your foot, but you still won't notice it's there.
Top Tracks: 'Try Harder'.
Released 14/04/08 on Mercury Records.