#7: Blood Red Shoes - Box Of Secrets (2008)

1. Doesn't Matter Much
2. You Bring Me Down
3. Try Harder
4. Say Something, Say Anything
5. I Wish I Was Someone Better
6. Take The Weight
7. ADHD
8. This Is Not For You
9. It's Getting Boring By The Sea
10. Forgive Nothing
11. Hope You're Holding Up

Honestly, it wasn't deliberate... but much like this album, this review is better slightly late than never, right? I've really got to try and start working ahead again... anyway, Blood Red Shoes are a brilliant live band who make a far louder noise than just two people ever should, and their album finally came out this week.

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It's been a long time coming, (due to record label issues more than anything else) but at last the debut album from Blood Red Shoes is finally here. But has it been worth the wait?

'Doesn't Matter Much' kicks the album off as it means to go on: With a grungy guitar riff, pounding drums and a simple, catchy chorus. Next up is re-recorded version of 'You Bring Me Down' that ads a touch of polish and a dash of anger to an already sublime slice of intense guitar pop. The rest of the band's previous singles are also present and sounding better than ever. 'I Wish I Was Someone Better' barrels along at 100 mph, thrashed out guitars and incessant drumming underlying a simple, non-ironic message of, well, wanting to be someone better, while 'It's Getting Boring By The Sea' combines reverb-laden guitar stabs with the frustration of hometown boredom - "You can't escape anything in this town" is surely a sentiment that many can relate to, regardless of whether they're from a seaside town or not.

'Take The Weight' slows the pace a little without removing any of the band's intensity, and the band even prove they can do vocal styles other than 'shouty' with an a cappella round towards the end of the song. Of course, the brattishness returns in style on 'ADHD', with Laura-Mary shouting "Now now now now now now now now boy!" as Steven distractedly tells us that "I'm so bored I can't think straight."

It might seem like an odd word to use to describe a Blood Red Shoes song, but if the band has a 'tender' moment then 'This Is Not For You' is it. Dealing with a failed relationship, it sees Laura-Mary show a much more melodic side to her voice as she tells her former lover "I don't want you to think I do the things I do because of you," before wearily deciding to "pretend that everything is just fine." They can't contain their anger for long though, and the song's climax sees them crank the volume up as Steven's howl provides a perfect contrast to Laura-Mary's melodies.

The band have evidently got a lot of bile to spew: 'Try Harder' mockingly sneers at scenesters ("We'll change our hairdye! We'll change our footwear! We'll change our ideas to fit what magazines say!") while 'Forgive Nothing' is arguably the album's most bitter moment, with Laura-Mary seething "Forgiving nothing is being kind: You turned your back and you left your spine!"

The album's most emotionally charged moment comes with 'Say Something, Say Anything': Steven's personal tribute to his father's death from cancer, his vocals sound raw and cracked before finally breaking down into a cry of "How long can you miss someone?" - again, a sentiment that's easy to relate to, and a moving one at that.

After all the anger, frustration and bitterness that permeates the record, 'Hope You're Holding Up' acts as both a glimmer of hope and an olive branch to lost friends or former lovers ("I hope you're holding up, I don't see you too much"). It also ends the album on a reflective note, with Laura-Mary pondering "Looking for reasons, it's hard to see: Would I change this for you, or change it for me?" before the song gently fades out into nothing more than breathy "aah"s.

Some may argue that Blood Red Shoes are a one-trick pony, and while this album doesn't feel like it's actively striving to quash these claims, there's plenty happening here to keep me interested. Box Of Secrets demonstrates that there's enough depth and energy in their girl/boy/guitar/drums style to last them for an entire album, with songs like 'Take The Weight', 'This Is Not For You' and 'Hope You're Holding Up' being different enough to prevent the record from becoming monotonous while managing not to stick out like a sore thumb alongside the rapid-fire singles. It's not really clear to me where they might go from here, but it's definitely a good thing that this record has finally seen the light of day. So, to answer my own question: Worth the wait? Absolutely.