Blood Red Shoes - Cold

Opening with a rhythm that cuts through the stratosphere like whirring helicopter blades, Blood Red Shoes announce that they’re back and as razor-sharp as ever. Possibly more so.

Moving further away from their rough ‘n’ ready indie-punk origins, and even going a step beyond the dirty, heavy, sweet alternative rock of follow-up ‘Fire Like This’, the lead single from album no. three showcases a denser layering of sound and increased emphasis on vocal dynamics. Anchored equally by guitar that bends, creaks, and lurches throughout and Steven Ansell’s powerhouse drumming, the focus is undeniably on Laura Mary-Carter’s voice which treads the line between a sublime purr and a clarion call to arms; but Ansell’s contribution in the full-on aural assault of a bridge is a necessary contrasting element, following LMC’s pristine precision with his dysphoric rasp: ‘Take a step out into the daylight / I don’t wanna fight for it all / Have it all where we fall.’

In a thrilling three and a half minutes that seems like they’re over too soon, it also seems like the band are guilty of a misnomer: the song may be called ‘Cold’, but it feels like the Brighton pair are still very much on fire.