What were you doing on the 18th of July, 2005? DiS was sleeping off a particularly debilitating post-birthday hangover. Elsewhere, Hurricane Emily was wrecking havoc on the Mexican coastline and eight Serbian secret police officers were found guilty of the murder of their former President Ivan Stambolic. Blood Red Shoes, meanwhile, were releasing 'Victory For The Magpie', their first 7".
The point here is that it's taken nearly three years - and a string of singles - for Steven Ansell and Laura-Mary Carter to finally deliver their debut LP. The tracklisting for Box Of Secrets will be pretty familiar to those who've followed the fortunes of the Brighton two-piece since those early releases because they've retained - and re-recorded - much of that material.
As a result, your take on the album will largely depend on whether or not you think these new recordings improve on the originals - to these ears, they categorically do. Against the odds, perhaps, Blood Red Shoes sound like a much better band with a bit of polish here and a few handclaps there.
That's because Box Of Secrets not only refines their sound with extra studio touches (overdubs, double-tracking - both, of course, the norm) but also retains the aggression of their live shows at the same time. Those rough edges haven't been sanded down excessively; it still delivers the punk-rock kick in the face we were all hoping for.
For a so-called 'indie' band on a major label (V2/Universal), it's a refreshingly heavy record. Opener 'Doesn't Matter Much' kicks in with a hefty, grungy riff and sets out the blueprint: guitars and drums loud, vocals shouty; somewhere between a much more accessible Huggy Bear and a brattier Nirvana.
That's far from being the whole story, though, because there's a genuine pop sensibility to the harmonies and they've some massive choruses to boot. The new version of 'You Bring Me Down', for instance, and 'Take The Weight' both linger long in the memory, while 'It's Getting Boring By The Sea' remains something of an unsung indie-disco anthem.
The main problem with Box Of Secrets is that, for all its qualities, there just isn't much in the way of variety on offer. One song bleeds into the next, and it's only when keyboards make an appearance on closer 'Hope You Are Holding Up' that anything different from their tried and tested guitars / drums / girl / boy formula is thrown into the mix.
An eleven-track album shouldn't feel overly long, especially when the average song length is around the three-and-a-half minute mark. Yet this does, and as it stands Box Of Secrets is merely a good record when it could have been a great one. At their best, Blood Red Shoes are incendiary but too often here they've a tendency to slip into their comfort zone: "this is what we do, let's do it some more".
For now we'll have to be satisfied with this one, but here's hoping for a slightly more varied and ambitious second LP - preferably sometime before 2011.
i guess
it's hard to vary things up that much with only two people. I have really liked this record for a long time. Although all the songs have a similar sound I don't feel it makes the album feel overly long at all.
About
a million times fairer than The Guardian review! I'm buying this today, having finally received some long overdue cash, so here's hoping. Saw them live at KCLSU last week and thought they seemed a bit knackered, sadly. First time I saw them headline and probably the worst of the three. The mate I convinced to come with had the same criticism as this review; 'the harmonies are good, but they revert back to them when they've run out of ideas', 'she only knows about three chords'.
I am excited to hear it, all the same!
The big problem with this record
for me - indeed only problem really, is that the new recordings of the likes of 'ADHD' and 'It's Getting Boring...' sound somewhat overproduced compared to the raw intensity of the originals.
Other than that, 7 is a fair score IMO.
Finally, we agree on something...
...although to me those old versions sound gash played alongside these ones. Each to their own though.
yeah i agree
i like the rougher sounding earlier recordings. its a good record, but its not great.
On the radio advert
there's this bit where one song goes into another and it almost sounds like one song, and it would be much better if that *were* one song.
I thought maybe DiS would automatically gush over BSR's debut
so I'm pleased to see an even-handed review. Well done.
...
... I really like this album. Having listened to it A LOT over the last month or so I've found that the more attention you give it, the more variation you can find in it. Although maybe sonically(?) there is not all that much variation (in that there is really limited instrumentation, true to their live performance) the songs have very unique qualities which become more and more apparent with time. For example, 'Say Something, Say Anything' is a very different song to, say, 'You Bring Me Down'. For a start you have two voices, two opinions, two attitudes, and both are equal... that gives the album plenty of variation.
The main thing that makes it so great (in my humble opinion) is the restraint that they have shown. To have resisted creating a big studio record is admirable. They have really accurately captured their live energy and sound in the way that a lot (most) bands can't. Although maybe it can be interpreted in as a lack of variation, I think that it's a a great record that shows exactly who they are and what they are about. Some bands work better live, others create beautiful records but fail to deliver when it comes to playing live. Blood Red Shoes fall in to the former - you really need to have seen them perform for this album to make sense. I'm not quite sure how much more they could have done, I hope time will tell.
a Brighton person I see ;)
but, seriously, a well put argument. I've found the complete opposite though: first listen, great, second listen, great... twenty-fifth listen... gre.. *yawn*
again, each to their own.
:)
I found with the first few plays it wowed me, then it kind of dipped a bit, so I tried on a different set of ears to those that it insisted I used when I first heard it, and after that it has seemed to get better and better. If that makes ANY sense. I never expected this album to be one of those that worms underneath your skin (as opposed to into your dancing shoes) but it really has...
I've seen them live, thrice
First two, hot as hell, third time, light as a feather. There's a discrepancy between the album and the live shows. ADHD doesn't sound this good live, sadly.
I really like this band, but...
..this album confirmed my doubts that they lack depth. I also don't think any of the songs needed to be rerecorded - you can really feel the fingers of the record label here turning that compression dial up and it's totally unncessary. Still, they're young and have potential, I wouldn't write them off. 5/10 for me.
Cat On Form
died for THIS? Watered down commercial drivel, destined to soundtrack some fleeting moment of cunty teenage angst on Skins. No thank you.
i love this band and think they make good songs
but it sadness how the production on this album really spoils all the fun. it just sounds like everything is suffocating under compression and effects, when in reality Blood Red Shoes actually sound better lo-fi.
take 'adhd' for example. i think it sounds awful on the record. it's too showy, has terrible use of reverb and feels a bit mid-paced. but the single version they released via try harder is just perfect. for one, it sounds tonnes heavier and just has a better urgency to it. it sound like they just went into a tiny room, set up enough mics, then rattled right through the song in one go.
another thing that annoys me about the record is the sound of the guitar. in their previous recordings, the guitar sounds really thick and murky and heavy. but on 'box of secrets' it just sounds watered down and all treble-y. it can make for irritable listening after a few songs. i think the only time it sounds great is on 'it's getting boring by the sea'. the drum intro still sounds wank, though.
i think 7/10 is a fair mark for it, which really is disappointing. i think if this record was made up of their riot grrrlie and grunge styled songs and engineered by steve albini or something, it would be my favourite album. sadly, this isn't the case.
i hope they do better on their second effort.
I haven't heard the originals,
and i'm quite enjoying sections of the record after several revolutions.
Many outfit's earlier recordings are preferred over their gleaming predecessors by enthusiasts, however opinionated musings shouldn't be delivered as if they are undeniable fact.
Horrors' EP was far more energetic and sustained an element of displacement recording wise but i don't frustrate myself when i occasionally fish out their debut, i'll just listen to the original versions that i feel are superior.
Don't waste you breath complaining how their lo-fi efforts were better, just board it up.