Reading/Leeds Festival Line-up reaction UPDATE!

MAIN STAGE ADDITIONS
BRITISH SEA POWER (Saturday Reading)
BSP make a welcome return to Reading with their debut appearance on the main stage. Which is a bit of a dissapointment really. They are a tent band through and through and the crowd at the main stage will remind them of it. Still an amazing band though.
Can't Wait to Hear: "Lately"

THE AUTOMATIC (Saturday Reading)
What's that that's over the hill? It's a... erm... crappy band. Working on their second album hasn't made them much more money. They're already a Pennie down. badum tish.

ALEXISONFIRE (Sunday Reading)
Comment goes here.

NME/RADIO ONE STAGE ADDITIONS
READING FRIDAY
JACK PENATE
Obviously a bit of an early booking after his show on the Carling Stage last year, but now the album's gone it seems as if the fans may have as well? Although I do like one of his songs, I can't remember which. But it matters little as they're all pretty much the same anyway.

ONE NIGHT ONLY
By managing the unfeasible trick of having their first "hit" just be another way of saying their name (it was called "Just For Tonight), ONO's abbreviation says it all too well. If it was for One Night Only, why are you still around?

THE DUKE SPIRIT
I saw these guys around the release of their first album being very out of place supporting KASABIAN at Ally Pally. They weren't particularly impressive, but I think my tastes may well have come around to theirs, especially as I wouldn't be seen dead at a Kasabian gig anymore.

BE YOUR OWN PET
Uh-oh, a possible clash here with BSP, but I will willingly make the dash between Main stage and big top for the chance to see BYOP's energetic live show.
Can't Wait To Hear: "Wildcat!"

BLOOD RED SHOES
Returning after last year's tumultous set in the Carling Stage, Laura-Mary and Steven will hopefully play to a slightly bigger crowd this time around.
Can't Wait To Hear: " I Wish I Was Someone Better"

MAKE MODEL
Scottish Indie-folk scamps have got another busy year of festivals and support slots (As I type this, their myspace has them scheduled to support Indie cruiserweights The Fratellis, We Are Scientists and The Futureheads) before their debut album is released at some point in the autumn.

ALBUM: Blood Red Shoes - Box Of Secrets

Having seen (and reviewed them in the previous post) them last week, I was very eager to get the album, as 40 minutes of Blood Red Shoes is about as most as the body can stand before it all starts sounding a bit more White Stripes and little less interesting.

Opening two tracks "It Doesn't Matter Much" and "You Bring Me Down" set the course out clear from the start - Blood Red Shoes don't do quiet. While they touch on melody, the focus is on rhytm, tempo and repitition. To say Blood Red Shoes are formulaic would be insulting, but unfortunately justified. Their Boy-Girl dynamic works much better than a lot of contemporaries. Both Laura-Mary and Steven are stars of the show, each bringing what the other needs.

They harmonise and back each other perfectly vocally, and Steven's drums are energetic, driving Laura-Mary's ceaseless attack of overdriven guitar noise. In a music climate where bands with two guitarists and a bass, the music can sound empty and lifeless (see: The View), BRS manage to more than compensate for the lack of two members and fill out the sound completely.

Fan (and personal) favourites "ADHD" and "It's Getting Boring By The Sea" get the re-recording treatment, at the expense of former single "Stitch Me Back", which is not featured. The production is generally superior to previous singles, with equal weighting given to both members, and Steven's frenetic drumming actually recorded properly

As I said before however, Blood Red Shoes do tend to get a little bit tiresome after 40 minutes or so, which is lucky as that is about the length of the album and its difficult to see where else they could really take their ideas, without drastically changing their sound. Don't get me wrong, it's pleasant, original up to a point and has worked for them for the last couple of years, but doesn't leave much space for new work. Even the songs that feature on this album are all cut from the same mould - so much so that changing the order of the album would be pretty futile, the songs all sound the same anyway.

It's almost unfortunate, and I'm being overly picky, as this album, as a stand-alone piece of work, is actually a fantastic listen. Its the result of years of hard touring and work for this band, and is not just a collection of previous singles and releases that some bands would be tempted to release. My only fears are whether or not Blood Red Shoes can actually go the distance.

7.5/10

Box Of Secrets is out now on V2 in the UK.

Blood Red Shoes @ Wedgewood Rooms, Portmouth, 08/04/2008

It's somewhat hard to believe that a duo so elegant as Laura-Mary and Steven can make such a decent racket.

Their bassless antics maye be simple, but as demonstrated by tonight's opening act, AN EMERGENCY, can difficult to pull off well. AE's twin guitar sound takes a whistlestop tour of American bedroom Indie Rock, taking in Sonic Youth, Les Savy Fav and everything in between. But while the lack of a four-string is just about hidden by the noise, their myspace recordings sound sparse and messy without the bass keeping it all together.

http://www.myspace.com/anemergencyxxx

Jack and George of THESE NEW PURITANS step up, neglecting to mention where their other two band members are or why they aren't here. Instead, either as an homage to tonight's headliners or that the left the other two at a Service Station on the M3, its just the brothers Barnett with George taking up the slack, negotiating the drum machine, sampler and playing bass. Whatever reason for them just being a twosome, their glitchy post-punk makes tons more sense without the full band backing it up. Despite rumours of lead singer Jack's arrogance, they play a tight set with few problems; "Numbers (AKA Numerology)" and "Elviss" are obvious highlights.

http://www.myspace.com/thesenewpuritans

A short interlude later, and the duo head onto stage. Laura-Mary, telecaster in hand, and Steven, ready at the drums, tear into a set full of energy despite both being still as statues. Former single "It's Getting Boring By The Sea" is dropped early into the set as well as the majority of the tracks from the forthcoming (yet already leaked) debut album Box Of Secrets.

While an obvious criticism is the formulaic nature of many of the songs, pretty much all of them step up to the plate and just plain fucking rock. "I Wish That I Was Someone Better" has all the pop-hooks, but they've made old cliches new and full of life, with half the crowd screaming the self-deprecating chorus back at them.

What is interesting, is that despite Blood Red Shoes impressive Indie pedigree - having played well over 300 shows and bounced around independent labels for a good couple of years, but they are still relatively unknown and still appear to be having good fun at what they are doing. Steven jokes with the crowd and Laura-Mary demurely grins into the microphone, occasionally shuffling closer to the crowd, eager to enjoy their well-deserved praise.

Past the 40 minute mark, however, patience is wearing thin. The songs begin to melt into one another, and while those at the front are still as enthralled as ever, the rest of the crowd are not quite as interested anymore. Just how far Blood Red Shoes can take their brand of noise remains to be seen - their album Box Of Secrets is to be released on Monday - but tonight they dissapear offstage for mere seconds before an encore that ends with the explosive "ADHD".

Their music may be simple, lyrics perhaps contrived, but it is anything but Indie-by-numbers, and thats whats important.