EP review: Blood Red Shoes – Ø

Seventeen years into performing together as Blood Red Shoes, Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell may have finally stopped giving a fuck what anyone expects from them. 2019’s Get Tragic felt like they were wiping the slate clean of their garage rock formula, its bold grooves and electronic swagger oozing with renewed confidence, a reminder that the Brighton duo’s combative chemistry can still spark unexpected thrills.

Anyone expecting them to repeat the ABBA-meets-QOTSA vibe on this self-produced EP, though, clearly hasn’t been paying attention. On Ø, synthesisers are deployed to heighten the creeping sense of claustrophobia, while Laura-Mary’s stoner riffing conjures miles of empty roads. ‘I’ve been chasing your shadow / Nailed a cross made of metal slates,’ she croons over a hammering beat into the starless dark, which is only punctuated by a shift into nursery rhyme cadence for the teasing, somehow menacing refrain, ‘A little love won’t hurt you.’

When Steven takes the lead on Control, it is with the blank-eyed delivery of a shady character sitting at the end of a seedy, dimly-lit bar. Although on the surface he appears to be yearning for reconciliation (‘I’m listening clearly, but I dunno if you hear me’), the robotic bassline and telltale passive-aggressive slips (‘Fuck what you think you want’) leave the characters in an emotional stalemate.

If that makes Ø sounds like a downer, well, it’s not exactly cheery. However, On The Hook closes this EP with the sort of bludgeoning guitar and drums attack that have powered Blood Red Shoes throughout their career. In truth, this EP feels like a detour down a side road that leads to a Butlin's camp for malevolent spirits and serial killers. It leaves you wondering which road Blood Red Shoes will take next.

Verdict: 3/5

For Fans Of: Queens Of The Stone Age, Mark Lanegan, PJ Harvey.

Ø is available now via Velveteen.

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