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| Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell of Blood Red Shoes |
Brighton duo Blood Red Shoes' third album, 'In Time To Voices', is a startlingly ambitious work. Swerving effortlessly from glorious pop hooks to head-banging thrash, via some ghostly slower moments, it is angst-ridden yet life-affirming; delivered with the swagger of a band on form.
Tonight they are in town to promote the new record with an acoustic set, on the tiny shop floor of Resident Records in Brighon's North Laine. A 70-strong crowd has gathered, eager to see how the band's trademark quiet-loud sound translates to this private setting.
Perched on the shop's counter with a guitar instead of his usual drum kit, Steven Ansell looks humbled, admitting, 'We're nervous because we can actually see you'. He then urges us, with a grin, to, 'Shut up, 'cos we play insanely quiet acoustically'. We shut up, and they begin, with 'Lost Kids'.
With no microphones, the band's fragile harmonies command the hushed room and carry the track's theme of alienation: the lines, 'I can't find my way/Already buried anyway', sound more poignant still.
Steven nails his vocal on 'Slip Into Blue', with Laura-Mary Carter joining for the killer chorus: 'Stops you breathing/Treasure I'm keeping'. She then takes over with a spooky delivery of 'Night Light', before the band close with the standout track: a brooding, brilliant rendition of 'In Time To Voices'.
Perched on the shop's counter with a guitar instead of his usual drum kit, Steven Ansell looks humbled, admitting, 'We're nervous because we can actually see you'. He then urges us, with a grin, to, 'Shut up, 'cos we play insanely quiet acoustically'. We shut up, and they begin, with 'Lost Kids'.
With no microphones, the band's fragile harmonies command the hushed room and carry the track's theme of alienation: the lines, 'I can't find my way/Already buried anyway', sound more poignant still.
Steven nails his vocal on 'Slip Into Blue', with Laura-Mary Carter joining for the killer chorus: 'Stops you breathing/Treasure I'm keeping'. She then takes over with a spooky delivery of 'Night Light', before the band close with the standout track: a brooding, brilliant rendition of 'In Time To Voices'.
Tickets for the gig were only available to those pre-ordering the CD from Resident, protecting the endangered art of the album in a download-driven age. 'That's a good trick', Steven declares, to much laughter. He's right.
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